Agility (2/6)

In addition having the puppy buddies join Gimme in her "special place" for rides in the car, I also added a snug coat for her to wear.  Overall I would say she did much better.  I watched her in the rearview mirror, and for most of the ride, she just lay in the back alertly looking around and silent.  Her whole demeanor was very different.

I put all four puppy buddies in the puppy pen and when Gimme got in, I distinctly heard her say, "I didn't know they'd take up so much room."  I'd placed one in each corner, figuring it would be the least impact on her space.  The two she interacted with were Kermit (naturally) and brown rabbit, so I may try taking the other two out, and they can be nearby, but not inside the pen.  I'm thinking the space between the pen and the side of the car will work.  She tended to lay right next to Kermit and I noticed later she had moved brown rabbit.

I think she liked the snug coat, once we got it on her.  She was unimpressed with getting it on.  Its a child's vest and just a tad too small.  If she continues to do well with it, I will probably alter it, make it a little larger in the forechest and replace the zipper with velcro.  I have another one I will also try on her to see if it fits better with less alteration required.  I'm going to wait and see what Tonya says before making changes.

Class was very good.  Gimme did really well and was overall very focused.  The only places she lost focus were when I made mistakes, not having walked the first course.  I started with my plan to get her working with me - it starts out looking very much like obedience, but its all skills she knows quite well and has lots of confidence in how to win.  I think it works well to put her in the right frame of mind.  Everyone was commenting about how good she was doing.  I was not altogether clear-headed myself, though I don't know why, so I also made mistakes on the second course, even though I walked it.  Still Gimme did very well and was running fast and was really responsive.

Because Gimme was having so much fun and working so well, we were able to focus on a couple of skills and tweak specific parts of the course to get a tighter line.  For the first time since we started agility I was able to send Gimme 20 feet to a tunnel while peeling off laterally and layering a jump.  It was very exciting because then I was able to easily get into position for the section of the course which followed.  It put me 20 feet down course when she exited the tunnel, so Gimme had fun running to catch up.  I also was able to get more lateral and slightly forward of her in the weaves, which also helped me get down course sooner.

Fun stuff.

Fun Day & Agility (2/2)

What a busy day we've had.  Recently I decided (again) to work to get Gimme's car whining under control.  It always occurs going TO some place and then the last five minutes coming home. Its more of a yodel than a whine, very loud and high pitched.  Its quite stressful for me, as well as distracting.  I've tried so many things and none have been successful.

I've tried filling a Kong before, but it didn't work well enough or long enough to get places.  I now realize the Kong wasn't as big as we needed.... and I wasn't employing it in the right way.  I've tried different things this last ten days and have hit upon a solution that works.  For one thing, I have a Kong which is substantially larger than the other two.  I'd purchased it for her stay at the kennel so she could take her evening meal in it, thus entertaining her more than just inhaling food from a bowl.  I've tried peanut butter, but it takes sooooo much to cover the 25 minute drive to the fort, it would simply be unhealthy.  So I'm now filling it with rice and raw hamburger and not giving her breakfast or if later in the day a very small breakfast. 

It worked today and was just wonderful to have peace and quiet.  Gimme only resorted to fussing when we actually got on the training area grounds.  So I let her out of her crate and clicker trained her to sit in the front seat.  By entertaining her while I drove (completely safe in this setting), she was able to be quiet. 

Someone was parked in our usual spot, so we drove around to the top area and parked.  I let Gimme out and we started walking.  We hadn't gone more than 20 feet from the car when I noticed Gimme staring into a clump of trees and saw there were two people and two black dogs just 25 yards from us.  I turned the other way and kept walking, calmly calling her to come with me and SHE DID!  I rewarded her with a lot of peanut butter.  I credit the peaceful ride with this success.  We were both less stressed and able to respond calmly to this most challenging situation.  I was so happy with her, I was nearly in tears.  I continued praising and treating her as we walked another 50 feet... which I hope will leave a lasting impression.

After our walk we drove out to Susan's, with Gimme contentedly finishing off her Kong.  We did several really nice nosework practice searches.  The only real carrying on occurred when she realized there was stuff going on which I was involved in and she was still in the car.  I'm not sure that will ever change, nor do I care.  Gimme was very good and very focused. She continues to love having peanut butter as the reward for nosework. 

After practice Susan and I watched some more of the Leerburg nosework training videos.  Although I don't agree with everything they are teaching, there is a lot of value in it.  Susan and I are both entered with our dogs in the Mt. Angel nosework trial and both of us are going up the night before.  She changed to my hotel and we are planning to get together for dinner.  We'll both search the internet for a pizza place in Salem with gluten free pizza. 

From there I drove straight to Rochester for agility class.  I was able to improve on all the things I'd noticed on the video's William took from several weeks ago.  I used palm targeting immediately when I took her off leash and was able to get her to the start line the first time without big zoomies.  There was just one tiny loop, so I just moved closer to her and got her focus back without clapping at her.  We got to the start line and were able to work the course.  Blynn noticed how much more focused Gimme was and how her ability to work through sequences was much improved.  I was also able to focus on actually giving her the verbal cues in a timely manner and Blynn said it was much improved.

Gimme was so much better, thus Blynn was able to focus on teaching me two really challenging handling sequences.  Gimme stayed with me and was able to repeat them multiple times until I got it right.  It was great fun for both of us... because she was rewarded for trying even if I she went off course (obviously because my inaccurate handling sent her there).  When I got my part right, Gimme ran flawlessly and it was the greatest feeling. 

Then Gimme was quiet and contented on the way home.  So all in all, a wonderful day with big improvements, which I think stem from being able to travel from place to place in peace and quiet for both of us.  

I didn't think it was possible to love this girl any more than I already do.  Still with such a perfect day behind us (rain and all), I'm just bubbling over with gooey love for my beautiful babe.  So, now its time for us to snuggle on the couch.

The Weekend & Public Dog (14)

We spent the weekend at my parents' house.  It was pretty crazy all weekend.  I don't know how my 82yo mother takes care of my father who is almost 85, in declining health and has Alzheimer's.  It was chaotic and tiring for me.

We had a little excitement on Saturday at dusk.  We were all watching TV when Dad said, "Gloria, look at that!" And there it was... a HUGE Barred Owl, sitting on top of the bird feeder. It sat there at least 20 minutes - long enough for me to run over to get Scott, hoping he had his camera, since mine was at home. Finally she dove to the ground and caught something for a light meal. Mom is really hoping the meal was not one of her squirrel friends...  We didn't have a camera available... but this is what it looks like.  I was surprised to see how big it was.  I found on the internet that the females are much larger, up to 2.5 pounds.  The one we had visiting was easily that big, if not larger, so that's why I refer to it as "she".

Gimme came in later to entertain everyone.  She ran through her whole repertoire of tricks and even showed off the new one we are working on, "jumbo", where she backs onto a perch and spins around (like elephants do in a circus, hence the name).  She has the backing-on solid, since she's always been very back foot aware and confident.  But until then I had never gotten the spin without luring it.  I'll be darned if she didn't do the spin the moment I said "spin".  I think she just likes having an audience.

Today was our out-and-about Public Dog class - held at Petsmart.  I decided in advance that I would treat it as one giant attention training exercise.  We spent a lot of time outside as a group... working the first exercise.  While we were waiting our turn, Gimme did whine some and so I put her to work doing some tricks and that settled her down.  I think standing around not-doing is frustrating to her.  On a positive note, doing a few tricks works and she is able to then go for longer and longer without whining.  I could have worse problems than a dog that really wants to train all the time.

The exercise was LLW without sniffing, using the uprights on either side of the door where many dogs had clearly marked.  We walked by and body-blocked the dogs when they attempted to sniff.  I'm pretty good at body-blocking, but not so good at relieving the pressure.  I see her give way, but there's a huge lag time between me seeing and being able to change my motion to relieve that pressure.  I think next time I'm just going to block-then-unblock in one continuous motion... because Gimme is so good at giving up the space, that if I just assume she will give it up, my unblock "response" will be more timely.

Then we went inside and I quickly got separated from the group.  So Gimme and I just walked the aisles, practicing not sniffing, being attentive and LLW.  She was most intrigued by the rodent, bird and fish food aisles.  IE... "intrigued" means "challenged".   I did have to bring out the peanut butter to help motivate her to resist that level and duration of distraction.  But... I was able to give it randomly.  Overall I was very pleased with how she did.  I plan to go back from time to time on my own.  It'll be a great place to train with distractions in the winter.

The small poodle showed up late again, but this time Gimme didn't pay much attention to it.  I think since there was a fairly constant stream of dogs coming and going, it didn't seem as big of a deal to her. 

And, kudos to me - I think I did a good job managing her proximity and exposure to the other dogs.  She did well and only got sticky from time to time.  She is contentedly snoozing as we speak.

Seminar and Public Dog (13)

We had a two day seminar this weekend in Corvallis Oregon.  I drove down Friday and came back Sunday night. 

 

Debbi Decker was fun, nice and entertaining.  That day was mostly about clever ways to teach tricks, though nothing really "exciting" (I'll describe them in the blog).  She relies a LOT on luring, which isn't my favorite way to teach things and not as useful for Gimme.  Kris Hurley on Sunday was all about Mental Management ("With Winning in Mind", Lanny Bassham), though that was only mentioned in passing in the seminar promotion materials.  She's about to become a certified MM instructor.  There were no exercises with the dogs - or even with people, even though it was advertised as a working seminar for people.  I guess she thinks a 6.5 hour "discussion" qualifies as a working seminar.  It was okay, but I wouldn't pay money for her again.

 

It worked out great for us because the seminar was in Julie's new building with 5000 sq ft usable floor space. Early sessions only had 5 dogs out at a time.  I used wire guides to make a reminder barrier, so that other teams wouldn't unintentionally encroach on our corner.  Also, I told the instructor we'd signed up for a working slot when Gimme was doing much better, about our recent regression, and to please look for us in the far corner.

 

We started the day by walking the grounds and coming in before others arrived to work on focus. She wasn't worried - just distracted. So I worked with her until I was getting good check-ins and cue responsiveness.

 

During the seminar, Debbi came to us last for each session, by which time I had already done a lot of "whazzat", so Gimme was focused and working.  Debbi was really impressed with how smart Gimme is and had a lot of nice things to say about her, calling her "exciting" and "gorgeous".

 

For the 3rd and 4th sessions, there were 8-10 teams on the floor and Gimme  was still able to work nicely.  It was a little harder for her, so I made it a point to cue "pretty" (a sit up "pretty", as opposed to stand up "dance") and then rewarded her with PB.  I've been using the PB to get her to hold the position with the intention of building her core strength.  With regular treats its hard to dole them out smoothly and she has a greater tendency to try and grab my hand with her paws to steady herself.  Plus she's not as inclined to work hard like she will for PB.  So in this case I was able to get two benefits from it.

 

During one of our sessions in the building we were doing LAT and I noticed that Gimme had stopped turning her head all the way to look at the dogs when I cued "whazzat". Basically she was looking at the wall behind and to my right and then looking at me. I immediately thought someone was *sneaking* up from that side and turned to look. Instead I discovered my little canine genius was using a wall mirror and dog reflections to play LAT.  She's always been fascinated by mirrors and particularly likes to pose in front of them and admire her lovely self. She'll even turn so she can admire the other side of her lovely self. So she obviously knows what they do - I just never thought she'd be aware enough conceptually to use them in that way.

 

We skipped one session because I found her sound asleep and I didn't have the heart to wake her. Then for the last session when I brought her in, she wasn't nearly as focused. A couple of teams were close... though not any more than had already happened. I saw her getting stuck and even with helping her get unstuck, she couldn't work for the cheese. So I worked through her slow and minimal behaviors to a known cue until I got a good response and then rewarded with peanut butter. Cued it again, got a faster and better response and I rewarded her heavily and headed back to the car.  It was particularly helpful for me to have looked at the descriptions in what I was writing and to distil it down to a short list of clues that she was reaching her limits.  Having just done that, when I saw two things from the list, I immediately recognized it and changed gears. 

 

One thing I noticed when she was getting a little stuck was that when I touched her she didn't turn to me right away. She's so tactile and normally responds to any touch by turning to see what she can get from it. So, I decided to play with that during class today, where she was immediately responsive to it every time (even for the poodle - see below).  I will try it in other situations to see if its consistent that she doesn't respond quickly when she's concerned.  If so, it may be an easy "test" for when I suspect the environment is getting to her and before it other clues become evident. 

 

In hindsight I should have let her take the rest of Saturday off when she slept through me walking up to the car the first time (she's "psychic" and usually wakes up when I even *think* about getting her). Still I found it encouraging that she was able to work through it...

 

Interestingly, after noticing the difference in her evening behaviors last week... Friday night when we arrived at Motel 6, she was calm and barely noticed the motel noises. She'd lift her head and softly wuffed once or twice. On Saturday, she was much edgier and barked several times. I went to bed leaving the TV on to obscure much of the hotel noises, turning it off at 3am. So I think evening behavior will be a consistent after-the-fact assessment of how well I managed her exposure during the day. 

 

On Saturday night when Gimme was alerting to motel noises with alarm barking...  one of the times I said "what's that" after she bounded off the bed to the door.  Instead of continuing to bark as I tried to cajole her to stop (as I had the other times), she immediately ran to me with a change of attitude, thinking I'd cued "whazzat" (which is why I picked that cue). It worked in the morning too...

 

I got "Through A Dog's Ear" CDs from the library and thank God I did instead of spending money on them.   For one thing, I didn't notice any measurable improvement for Gimme.  And equally important, I found them intensely annoying. I kept waiting for the next note and it was like Chinese Water Torture, just exhausting...  I may consider getting a white noise machine or a small CD player and some white noise type CDs, for when we travel.  And could use it here at home when she's had a stressful day.

 

For today's class, she did pretty well.   We were in the park, so it was easy to move around and use space effectively.  She was whining a lot, but I took it more that she was wanting to be "doing" something rather than stressed.  This class tends to include a fair amount of standing around and that frustrates her.  Once we started really working the dogs, then she got quiet and worked well.  I did notice that she often was watching the dog that came late (small poodle) keeping one eye on it almost the whole time.  The poodle did look in our direction a fair amount, so that could have been part of it - it could also be sudden environmental change, because of them joining our group so late.  She responded instantly every time I touched her, so I'll watch to see if that turns out to be a good test for us. 

 

Ursula saw her flirting with Tor (Alaskan Malamute) and she has always been more comfortable with him.  So Frank and I are going to try to get together to go walking together, maybe Friday.  She needs more opportunities to walk with dogs that are well behaved.

For class on Thursdays (and all classes in the building) I have pretty much decided to continue grabbing the area that has the the only separate door to the outside. I'll also take the expen and stretch it around our space, enclosing the door. I can park my car right outside the door, backing in, so I can use it as a station as well as having her matt inside.  There are also visual dividers that I can set up as needed.  My initial approach was to start in the building and then leave for breaks... but that didn't seem to work well enough. So now I'm going to flip that and work outside and then dip in for short times, building up from there. Which of course, in hindsight makes perfect sense. Far better to start from a calm place and add small amounts of challenge than to start in a pressured place and try to relieve it. Duhhh...

 

Also I've been thinking I should try DAP again and see if its beneficial.  I tried it and it didn't work when I was trying to solve her car whining, back when I thought it was a stress issue.  Perhaps that wasn't a fair test, since I later realized its anticipatory whining, which is a rather different thing.

Public Dog (8)

Gimme did okay for class.  I've received the stress support supplement for dogs (Serenity Now) and have now given it to her for a couple days.  I don't yet notice any benefit, but even though the hormones cause stress, I think her condition is more about the hormones.

I'd discovered that her understanding of how to win while relaxing had deteriorated and essentially turned into a feeding frenzy.  Hormones are driving her to eat everything in sight and she's actually gained a couple of pounds.  So during class on Thursday, I worked on reestablishing a calmer routine and focus on self control.  It was hard for Gimme, but she is getting it. 

The class was working on all the things the dog needs to accept comfortably from other people.  During class we each did them to our dogs, while observed by an instructor and got signed off as either "good" or "needs work".  For instance one task is brushing the dog.  I didn't bring a brush (don't even own a dog brush), so I just used my wad of keys in my hand and stroked them over her body.  Gimme did fine with that - thought it was a bit odd, but she is really so good about any touch that nothing fazes her.  The other tasks were: examining teeth/mouth, ears and feet, pulling tail, and hard patting on the head.  Gimme got signed off on all the tasks - easily...

Yesterday we met Susan and Mary for a nosework practice.  We met at Lowes and set up container drills in the parking lot.  Gimme was not as focused as usual and more whiney than usual.  Tucker is doing so well in the beginning and less so on later exercises; his attitude and drive have improved now that Susan is bringing better goodies.  I think he's gotten good enough with the food distraction concept that he gets bored with repetitions.  So in the future we are going to do just a couple of container drills and then some exterior searches.  Grafton did well on his first search but after that he was mostly checked out.  Turns out Mary brought unexciting treats and once Grafton found out, he wasn't inspired to work through the distraction of the environment.  We made Mary give up her dinner to use as treats and that helped quite a bit.  Right now his natural indication is in a state of flux... so we are working on strengthening a component of it.

Now am off to my parents' for Father's Day and painting...

Nosework (4/13) & Public Dog (3&4)

Since I last wrote we've had nosework class, two Public Dog classes, and nosework practice this evening.  Gimme continues to do fabulously all around.

Tuesday was Public Dog class - we met at the local county fairgrounds outdoors.  I started by working on focus, lots of "whazzat" and auto-check-ins.  She did well until all the dogs started moving around and then we had to almost start over.  By the time they were ready to do the group exercises, so was Gimme.

We used a large quadrangle to practice LLW.  To start with we walked with 15 feet separating us from the dogs in front and behind.  I used the 300 Pecks format so I knew how she was doing.  The best we got to was 14 steps, which I think is great given the level of distraction.  Then they added having the person in the back speed up to pass everyone on the left (about 10 feet away), taking up the lead position.  That didn't seem to bother Gimme.

Our next exercise was with the dogs on a down stay in front of us, while another dog and handler walked in a serpentine through the line-up.  The first dog that went by Gimme popped up, but then she quickly figured out that the way to win lots of treats was to ignore them.  I'm into making hard stuff worth her while and she's into letting me.

The last group exercise was to split us into twos and do parallel walking.  We were paired with Tor on our right, which worked well, since Frank walks him on the right, so that added additional space.  She did about half of that and then got really distracted and I thought she needed to pee - so peeled off to the grass.  When I did that, it became clear the co-instructor didn't really understand my goals for the class, so I stayed after to clarify.

Wednesday was nosework class and we met at the county's fireman training facility.  We had three different searches, one inside the climbing tower and two in an outdoor area that is set up to resemble indoors.  While a couple other dogs were intimidated by the noisy metal steps in the climbing tower, I don't think Gimme even noticed them.  She did stellar in all her searches.

The last search was a single blind hide.  Gimme had difficulty finding this one, but it was really hard.  There was a full size plastic barrel full of loose wood scraps and the hide was about 5 inches down into the scraps.  Add to that the reality that it had only had about 2 minutes to "cook"... which made it really challenging.  I knew pretty quickly what the general area was where it was, but I really had to wait for Gimme to source it.  If we ran into that same challenge at a trial, it would be much easier because there's a minimum of an hour between when they set the hides and when the first dog runs them - so there would be a lot more odor drifting out.

I stayed after class to help one of the students with her line work.  She doesn't use a very long line (about 9 ft), but still its always getting tangled around her dog.  Also, since its loose most of the time, whenever the dog gets odor and dashes toward it, on such a short line she is getting an unintended correction.  Minutes after I made the offer to her, Joyce talked to the class about one of the issues this person was having in her line handling.  Either great-minds-think-alike or someone was eaves-dropping.

Thursday Public Dog class was at the main training building, with six dogs in that small space.  They had set up the class in a "stations" format, where the dogs were learning tasks that are from the Therapy Dog class.  Joyce had set aside a space for me to set up Gimme's crate (which we only went back to one time).  None of the tasks were hard... just done in a different way than I would do them or have done them.  So it took more for me to get into their way of doing it than it did for Gimme.

One task was quite interesting, they call it "wall".  The idea is to teach the dogs to move into a sit, leaning against a wall, so the handler can be right there leaning against the wall too.  You might need it in a hospital setting if they needed to move a gurney down the hall.

Gimme actually already knows this behavior - its something I've been clicker training her to do in the front seat of the car.  She's gotten really good about staying quiet in the car... except when we are headed out to the fort or down to the lake - in which case she does a LOT of anticipatory whining.  So I put her in her seat-belt harness in the front seat.  Then I use the clicker and reward her for laying down or leaning back into the seat.  It keeps her quiet and I can do it without taking my eyes off the road.

So when I moved Gimme close to the wall and cued a sit and then waited for the slightest shift of her body, it took just 2 clicks for her to figure it out and then she was leaning against the wall over and over again.  We are supposed to gradually rotate our body position so that we'd be standing in front of the dogs with our back against the wall.  Of course, I was able to rotate really quickly.

What I didn't realize was how much that changed my visual for what Gimme was doing.  She was repeatedly leaning her ribs against the wall, but I was watching for her shoulders - thus she wasn't getting clicked.  Naturally that was very frustrating to her and she started whining and fussing.  I saw the co-instructor was approaching with her itchy trigger-finger and the evil spray bottle... so I moved between her and Gimme to make sure I could stop her if need be.  In doing so I looked down from a different angle and saw that Gimme was indeed leaning against the wall - clicked her and we were off and training again, with no more whining.

So add to all that two long walks on the fort and nosework practice tonight -- suffice it to say, Miss Gimme has been one busy little girl.  She is sound asleep as we speak.

BTW I made it clear to the co-instructor at the very first class that I am not interested in her "generous offer" to squirt Gimme in the face, should she ever whine or bark during class.  I believe I said that any attempt on her part to do so would result in her having a bloody stump where her hand used to be.  However, it seems her eagerness to dish out this particular punishment overrides her sense of self preservation.

I am not surprised to know she is happy to use punishment - since I'd heard things before about her.  I hoped what I'd heard was wrong, that Ursula knew better and that's why she was okay partnering with her for these classes.  What I've been most sad to learn is that Ursula is completely okay with this being done in her classes and even chatting it up about how many squirts it takes to shut the dog up.  I'll have more to say about this in another blog entry...

Nosework (1/2)

Tonight was our first class of the second session of nosework.  Gimme was soooooo glad to be back for this.  She really likes this work and the first time in always imitates a freight train, dragging me into the building as fast as she can go.  She's a little less intense about dragging me after that - thank God.  I realized after class on the way home that she was completely quiet riding in the car both to and from class and I didn't even hear a peep from her when we were there and she was waiting her turn.  Sure am happy she's getting past most of the whining.

This time they had driven a vehicle into the building and we introduced the dogs to vehicle searches.  The dogs will only be searching the outside of vehicles.  For our first hide we started by holding the dog back while they watch the instructor put food on the bumper and then get to go and get it.  Repeated that and then the third time the dogs were mostly very focused on the bumper and didn't necessarily see the instructor place the food there.

For the second hide, we pretty much repeated the process, but without the dog getting to watch the instructor and then encouraging the dogs to continue around the vehicle to find more.  It was interesting to see that when Gimme finally found the little bit of food that was stuffed in the crack around the headlight - after that she became very aware of the cracks/seams on the vehicle and checked them all thoroughly.

The third hide was more of the same.  Gimme did a great job and worked her way around finding all but two of them.  Then on her own she decided she should make another pass and was rewarded by finding the other two. 

This girlie looooooooves to use her nose. 

Nosework (3/1) & The Project - Day 19+

Its been a full week.

About half an hour after my last entry, I got the beginnings of a migraine.  Its still with me, though milder.  I was unable to sleep Tuesday.  Finally about 5:30 a.m. after a long hot bath, I was drugged enough and relaxed enough try again.  Michael chose that exact time to get up and leave a pee trail from one end of the house to the other!  Having pulled all the carpet, it didn't take long to clean up, yet enough to get me wide awake.  I spent most of Wednesday taking drugs and laying around.  Around noon fell asleep, but 90 minutes was all Gimme could stand.  She thinks that since entertaining her makes her feel good, it should do the same for me.   Got up, had lunch, took more drugs, played tug for awhile and even had a training session on apple.

Apple - back into a box, back feet only
I discovered toward the end of the session that Gimme does better about backing in if I'm careful how I treat her.  If I throw the treat too far, then she turns and approaches the box head on - which means either walking through or turning and side stepping in.  If I drop the treat between us, then she only takes a step or so forward and so just backs into the box.  I'll do that each time for the next few sessions and see if we can get backing in more solid.

That night in nosework class, Gimme couldn't get focused during her first two runs, flitting around the room and having a devil of a time finding her hides.  I'm sure being cooped up all day was the reason.  Her buddy Grafton was the best overall that night; though all the dogs are improving.  By her third session, she was back in the swing.  We had three piles of boxes and the food was in one of the lower boxes, so the upper boxes were in the way.  Gimme and Grafton found their goodies in equal time, but Gimme excelled in getting to hers.  Grafton is a little timid about pushing into the boxes, whereas Gimme was more than happy to pounce on the pile and scatter them in all directions.

Thursday I ended up working my Wednesday stores and when I got done decided to get Gimme and me out to the fort for a walk.  She was very quiet until we got on Rainier headed out there and then she fussed up a storm.  Even though the rescue remedy has been wonderful for everything else (and since), she was just fit to be tied.  I don't know what sets her off.  I think she may have a little homing pigeon in her and somehow senses when we are approaching that area of the county.  I'm going to try some different routes, but the last mile has to be on the same road.  I'm thinking in the future when she starts in as we are going out there, if she doesn't settle fairly soon, then I'm just going to turn and head home.  Even if it does take forever to get there, I can't help but think the behavior is still being rewarded.

Since it took so long to get there, by the time we walked and were heading home it was getting dark.  I rounded the corner and just barely had time to slam on my breaks, there were cars scattered every which way and just at the last moment I swerved to miss the cause of this mayhem.  Myself and another lady managed to catch the fattest Pug I've ever seen - wider than he was tall.  Since I had crates in the car, I took him.  Went to the nearest well lit home and after about an hour was able to figure out where he belonged and drive him home.  The owner was a piece of work.  He was more interested in making excuses for how Bob got out, than expressing appreciation for the efforts of those of us who saved his dog's life and for my bringing him home.  Some people!  Bob was just very lucky that he stopped traffic when he did, since minutes after I stopped it was pitch black and no one could have seen him in time to stop.

Thursday and Friday I did some parking lot sessions.  I'm revising how I'm doing that.  Gimme gets about a minute to look around and satisfy herself about the environment, then I'm pushing her more to get to work.  Basically if she doesn't turn her attention to me, I just keep moving her around, so that she doesn't have time to look around.  I think the behavior is too self-reinforcing.  Naturally this requires me to accurately assess why she is looking around.  If she has a real reason to be distracted that would be a different matter.  If not, my plan is to interrupt the self-reinforcing aspect.

On the way home Friday we stopped by Home Depot to pick up something I needed.  Took Gimme in for her usual cookies.  She'd been doing so well with LLW that I didn't put her EasyWalk harness on her - 30 seconds after getting in the door we returned to the car to correct that oversight.  HD is a great place and we get some nice training in.  Plus, as luck would have it, they have some of the most dog savvy employees at my store.  If they aren't busy, they are more than happy to work with her.  She always gets lots of attention and is finally getting used to the bizarre concept that some people actually don't want to pet her.  She turns her nose up and walks jauntily by when she realizes its one of those really aberrant types.  She's just sure they need medical attention.

Peach - head under a chair
Friday after work I did another training session.  Gimme is having a real difficulty getting the idea of waiting for the cue (stage three of learning).  My thinking is either I'm doing something wrong or I'm doing something wrong.  When I cue Gimme, its like she isn't really listening to me because she's only right about which behavior to give me out of the four I'm using (peach, sit, down, touch) about 60% of the time, whereas her accuracy is around 95% any other time.  I swear she gets it in her head which one comes next (I'm working hard to keep it random) and then doesn't listen to what I'm actually saying.  I've emailed Ursula and we may add this to our upcoming private lesson.  She says that Gimme is just the type of girl she would expect this kind of problem and that she needs to improve her "listening skills".  She mentioned having the same difficulty with two of her seven dogs.  I re-checked my notes to see how to work on this part.  I'd been doing a combination of extending the cue and the mixed sets.  So I'm going to try clicking for waiting and see if that makes it clearer for her.  And if not, we'll add it to our private lesson next week.

Gimme was less focused today in agility practice.  So I'm making the same changes.  She gets a few minutes to snoop around while I set up the exercise, then if she isn't ready to work I put her on leash and do the drill of moving her around, so that she doesn't have time to look or snoop around.  Again I think the snooping is just too self-reinforcing, so I want to interrupt the self-reinforcing aspect.  After I did that, she got right down to work and did some really good stuff.

I did some yard work today, pushing through the remaining migraine.  What should have taken an hour, took twice as long with Gimme's "help".  I've been unable to convince her that its not really helpful when she runs off with my tools, the weed eater line (while balling it up into a big knotted mess), and the big pieces of ivy I've been cutting down.  She says she only does it to air them out.  I maintain that since the ivy, the tools and the weed eater line have all been outside all along, they don't actually need airing out.  She remains unconvinced.

Orange - sit on a small perch
Since this is her other behavior we're trying to get waiting for the cue, did this today.  I selected this because its a little harder behavior than peach, so thought she might not leap right to it as readily.  I started clicking for her not doing anything and at first thought it was working... but as we got into it, she went back to "not listening".  She'd wait for me to give her a cue, but then about half the time give me some behavior other than the one I asked for.  If I waited, then she'd give me the right one.  So clearly this isn't going to be the magic fix.  I did notice that when I did a rapid succession of cues in tertiary reinforcement style... then she gives me the right behavior almost every time.  Curious thing and I'll be interested to see what Ursula says about it.  When Gimme gets frustrated she gives me a nice bark fest.

Afterward I tried easy stuff.  We got out the brick and did some "get in" (counter clockwise forehand pivot).  Gimme didn't seem convinced that I wanted her front feet on it and kept backing on.  I wonder if that's a carry over from apple or if its because of our playing with two small platforms for a stand.  The other thing, once I got her doing it was that when I say the cue as she is doing the behavior trying to get this on cue, she breaks off the behavior.  After I was done training it suddenly occurred to me why.  I have always used "get it" for a tossed treat and now "get in" for this.  They sound so much alike, no wonder she is having problems.  Smack my forehead!!!

BTW at one point she started pushing the brick (octagonal 7" diameter board) around the floor with her nose.  So I expect that next time we do melon, she'll be the push master queen...

I really want to use the "get in" for the forehand pivot because its in my head and the first thing that comes out of my mouth for that behavior.  So will leave it alone for awhile and have a few sessions of just using "yours" for the tossed treats.  Add to that all the times I'll use that when tossing her treats for resets, it should switch pretty quickly.  Then in a few weeks will come back to this and see if she's able to accept the new meaning for the cue.  It'll be a challenge and we'll just see.  She's pretty smart, so I think she will.  If not, I'll make the cue an elongated "innnnn" and then later start putting "get" in front of it.  You know I'll let you know how it goes.

We also did some work with our single stand platform, ala Michele Pouliet.  I need to go back and watch the video again to get clear in my head about how to teach it before I go any further.

You know, it occurs to me that she has so many behaviors that are well on their way.  I think as soon as we get past the hump of "wait for the cue", she is really going to take off in her understanding.  Training my little genius is such a fun adventure.

Well, drugs are wearing off, so must be time for the next dose and I'm sure I hear the couch calling me.

Melon - push cube with nose
Grape - dead bug (on back, feet in the air)
Not trained. 

Still in Class & The Project - Day 18

Yesterday was kind of a quiet day overall.  It was a bad day for whining, so I decided to pick up and try Rescue Remedy.  I've also done what I said I would, to block Gimme's view outside the car.  So far it seems to be going well.  I'm still doing the thing of stopping the car if there is active whining.  Once or twice of that and then she settles in for the rest of the drive.  Not sure at this point whether its the Rescue Remedy or blocking her view that is helping, but either or both is fine with me.  What an interesting process this has been - especially since I can't figure out any consistent pattern.

After work today, we went through all our fruit training... Gimme was happy as a clam.  I think she'd like to do all of them almost every day.  Today she was quite barky.  The only-on-cue part really frustrates her.  She was also throwing other behaviors at me that weren't part of the fruit grouping, so that seems different.  As soon as I get the last strip of carpet pulled up then we'll be able to train more consistently again - since its raining almost every day now, we absolutely have to have an indoor space.

Melon - push cube with nose

We started with this and boyoh was she giving me some really good pushes.  She was rolling or pushing the cube about 2 feet most of the time.  Occasionally she'd get her feet into it, but I just ignored that.  She tends to get it pushed up against something and that definitely brings the feet into play.

Peach - head under a chair

I just did the white chair and was waiting out her insistence on doing it on her terms.  That's where the barking started.  She seemed to be getting the idea of waiting for the cue by the end of 20 treats.

Grape - dead bug (on back, feet in the air)

Gimme doesn't really like doing this on the hardwood floor.  I got some once I threw the comforter on the floor, but by then she was already frustrated.  I think I'll back up and encourage her to do this on a spare couch cushion or other soft surface.  Its still every bit as cute, when she stops barking at me long enough to do it.

Apple - back into a box, back feet only

This was the first time I didn't use the leash and it went really well.  She only stepped through twice.  Did about 25% sidestep and mostly backing in.  She has decided now that she can put one foot in and then have the other resting on the edge (smashing the edge is more like it) and that I should just accept that.  Not!  That really pushed her barking button.

Orange - get onto a small perch with all four feet

This went well as before.  She still hasn't made the connection that she only gets clicked for it when I cue it, so more barking.  She was quite the little jabberwocky today, but she was having fun telling me off.

When I got to class Mr. Dinosaur said he needed to talk to me.  He "reminded" me that I'm not his employee (duh) and that as such I can't give instruction or help the other students (because of insurance concerns).  Seems he didn't know I gave that other lady a card.  I think he is referring to when I was talking to the owners of the fearful Sheltie who is barking any time other dogs get too close.  It was a continuation of a conversation that started outside about 45 minutes before class.

The lady with the black poodle wasn't in class tonight.  I don't know if that is just coincidence or if she has decided not to come back.  Hope she goes to Ursula.  The GSD in the prong collar is getting more aggressive acting and tried to fight with another dog.  His owner got special instruction after class so basically he's on 10" of leash and a constantly tight prong collar.  That should do wonders for his disposition.  Two more dogs are in prong collars that weren't last week.  One is the dog that whines all the way through class, which he still does even with the new way of correcting him.  After class two students were telling the Dinosaur that he really knows his dogs and how amazed they are at how much calmer their dogs are in their new collars (prong).  I resisted the urge to run over, throw myself down on the floor and do the grape.

The Dinosaur made it a point to tell the class how much he hates clicker training.  That is, of course, right after Gimme did some of her best work in the class.  The next time we heeled I went right back to clicking and heard an audible sigh from him.  Oh darn.  For me and mine, the clicker stays.

For Gimme's part, she did better tonight - with moments of sheer brilliance.  Working in the alcove for much of class is a big improvement.  The office we'd been using was occupied, so we couldn't use it, but still did well.  Gimme is sound asleep as we speak.

Second Nosework Class (2/1)

First an update.  Its been cooler here, so I've taken Gimme to work with me more often.  Yesterday was a cool day and when I came out to the car between and after stores, I indulged in short training sessions.

The first time I first walked her around behind my Shopko account.  Remember this is where she once showed a lot of concern about the large truck noises on the freeway.  We walked right up to the edge of the behind-the-store parking lot and she showed no sign of even noticing the truck noise.  She was too busy sniffing and eating blackberries. Then we walked back toward the car and she found a squished and rotting bag of garbage that she wanted to investigate.  I took her past it closer to the car and did check-ins, then some eye contact.  After that decided to use that distracting garbage (never let a good distraction go to waste) to work leave-it and heeling with distraction.  She very quickly figured out that the goodies I have are far better than garbage - who knew....

After my TopFoods account we did more check-ins and then more eye contact.  We also did some heeling and I discovered that her duration in the sit between movement needs work.  Gee, wonder who's fault that is...?

I have to report a wondrous discovery.  Remember I lamented in an earlier post how the good behaviors never globalize like bad behaviors do?  Well I've discovered one of Gimme's that has - to a certain extent.  She was taught early in life to wait for permission to eat her meals.  I can set her full food bowl down and then put all the makings away, wash my hands, gather up the other dogs' bowls and go through the door, before sticking my head back in and giving her the "okay" to eat.  It is, without a doubt, her best self-control behavior -- showing that she obviously is capable and I just need to train more of it.

Well the other day we were going somewhere after breakfast, so I put her outside and got breakfast ready for everyone.  I set Gimme's breakfast outside the back door expecting her to find it and eat it.  Two minutes later I looked out the window to discover her standing there waiting for an "okay" to eat.  What a good girl she is! 

After that I started paying closer attention and realized that when she is fed in her crate, she's doing the same thing, after a fashion.  She runs in and out of her crate, even though the bowl is already in there and I was thinking she was evidencing that she didn't want to get in the crate.  I've been putting her in and walking away.  Now that I've watched her, I realize she is waiting for me to give her permission to eat.  No telling how long she's been sitting there ignoring her uneaten breakfast all this time.  Bad mommy for not noticing good Gimme's good behavior.

There are also rules to this behavior that I probably need to work on, rules that Gimme invented and that are too too funny.  First, Gimme thinks this only applies to her meals in her bowl on the floor.  It does not apply to dropped food.  It does not apply to her bowl on the counter.  It does not apply to Meaggi or Michael's bowls.  That's my girl - Queen of Hoots...

On the way to class last night, Gimme was fussy, which surprised me, since we had trained twice already.  I had to stop five times on the way to Albertsons - which promised to make it a long trip to class.  When I came back to the car, she was clearly still primed to whine.  So I got her out of the car and did a short training session there.  Again check-ins (interrupted by a child that had to come and pet and hug Gimme), then eye contact.  There were a lot of comings and goings and so this was very hard for her. 

When we were done she got back in the car and was completely quiet for the rest of the drive.  This lends more credence to my thinking that she is happier and calmer when she gets plenty of training.  Is there such a thing as a training-junkie?  Could she be developing train-aholism?  Hmmmmm.

Once we got to class, she whined briefly, but quickly settled down and was quiet for the rest of the time.  Woo hoo...  Next time I'm going to get her out when we get there and do a set of check-ins and eye contact and see how that works.  If that's what it takes to keep her happy and contented - its certainly a system I can live with.

Nosework class was great.  Now that the class is broken down into smaller groups, we are in the later group of five teams.  Gimme is far and away the best in the class.  My buddy, a Boxer-mix, is the next most enthusiastic.  There are also two Border Collies and a blind Aussie.  One of the BC's is fairly enthusiastic. 

During the first set, there were less boxes than before and more spread out.  Gimme was all over the place and just wild to find them.  She is verrrrrry busy and verrrrrry fast.  This week we were to follow them and add food to the box when they found the hide.  That was hard for me because Gimme would snarf up the food and be gone so fast I couldn't catch up some of the time.

During the second set, the boxes were more spread out and again Gimme was little Miss Speedy.  The instructor was trying to distract her by moving around the room and past Gimme with other boxes, but she only fell for that once.  She is very into this game and thrilled that so many people went to so much effort to invent it for her enjoyment.  It's great being the center of the universe.

The third set was done on leash.  The boxes were set up around the perimeter, with one up on a chair (the box opening was to the front, not up).  Gimme raced around the room and found all the hides.  She missed one the first time around that was in the first corner, since she was going so fast and rounded that corner.  Denise Fenzi would call that an error of enthusiasm.  The instructor said that as the finds get harder, she may slow down to do what she needs to in order to find the hides.

She came home and slept without moving until it was time to go to bed.

Frustrating Friday - New Lesson Learned

I expected that Gimme would be fussier on the drive today.  So, I made it a point to play with her some before we left, but oh good Lord, it took 2:10 to drive 2.5 miles!!!  By the time I tumbled to just how long it had been, we were already past the halfway mark and I was getting lower on gas.  I thought that at least once we got to the park and walked, I'd be able to drive home without a lot of stops.

The weird thing about tonight was that she was much fussier than she has been all week.  And there were a few short tantrums during the stopping breaks, before she would settle down.  We haven't had that during the drive -- only at the end when she was insisting that it was time for Gimme to get out and play RIGHT NOW.  Once we got there, she fussed for about 20 minutes and then finally settled down a bit.  Then I had to do the reach, pull away, reach, pull away drill for a bit before she remembered that the way we get out of the crate is to sit and that pawing at the door and whining are not part of the sit behavior, even if she is so multi-talented that she can do all three at once.

When I got her out, she just couldn't focus well enough to walk decently, even though she was wearing the EasyWalk harness.  I finally got so fed up with having my arms jerked out of the sockets that I sat down on a bench and tied the leash to it.  Then just clicked her for any sign of attention, any check-ins, any default sit, etc.  That helped some.  I got her in my lap and tried doing some Ttouch to settle her, but it didn't help.

Weirdly there were very few people in the park at that hour and she was even more distracted than usual.  I don't know if that was because she was still keyed up from the drive.  Or possibly because there was so much less going on, it was easier to focus on really minute things that she'd never noticed before. 

Since we weren't making any real progress, I decided we might as well head home, cuz if it was going to take two hours... it would already be past midnight before we got home. 

Walking back to the car she was still flinging off in all directions.  So I started doing what I do in the arena, only this time on leash.  If she went left, I went right.  If she went forward, I went back... whatever she did, I did the opposite.  I have to admit it felt sort of Koehler-ish.  Probably because I was frustrated by this time (and I always found training that way frustrating), though Koehler was always trying to set them up for a big leash correction.  Since Gimme was in a harness she wasn't getting any corrections. 

In no time at all, I had a super attentive dog on the other end of my leash.  She was into this and thinking it had GAME POSSIBILITIES.  Not being one to disappoint her, I turned it into a game.  I was dashing all around, changing directions and constantly making it more challenging to her.  When she'd catch me, she got clicked and treated.  I changed directions a LOT, but still generally heading toward where we'd parked. 

It was fun for both of us and has given me pause for considering things...  but, I am sooooo going to pay for that tomorrow with sore achy knees.  So the drive home was absolutely silent.  Gimme went from crazy dog on the drive down to the contented puppy on the way home.  She is dozing right now, contented.

So I've rechecked my blog (which doubles as my training log) and I see that when the whining went from annoying to much worse was after our classes with Ursula stopped.  It increased again after started doing the distraction training at the beginning of the month and then when we stopped training the fruit project 2 weeks ago to try to spend some time on tightening up her responses to sit and down cues.  Each of the noticeable differences seems to coincide with changes in our schedule that resulted in less training and/or less mental challenge.  And now that we've been working on the whining, she is getting even less training, but the sharp uptick tonight seems late - unless you consider that the extra exercise in the form of walking around Capitol Lake and on the boardwalk may have bled off some of the mounting frustration. 

Perhaps I'm wrong, but its certainly something to explore.  Gimme has always loved to train and I've often thought she needs the mental exercise.  I think she is the kind of dog that has to have a job.  We learned during classes with Ursula that Gimme doesn't do well when stuff is too easy cuz she gets bored.  When its hard to puzzle through and do, that is when she thrives.  So it may be that while I've been focusing on stuff she knows, trying to tighten up her responses, that I've unintentionally been boring her during the training that we have been doing. 

Anyway, that's kinda where my mind is right now.  So will play with that over the next few days and see what we get.  On the fruit training, I'll work on the three behaviors that aren't on cue yet.  And with the sits and downs, I think I can make them more interesting for her if I throw them in with a bunch of heeling games. 

First Nosework Class (1/1)

Last night's Nosework class was a LOT of fun for the Cutest Nose on the Planet.  Gimme comes from a long line of excellent Dalmatian noses, so she took to it like the proverbial duck to water.  The moment her nose told her there was food in one of them thar boxes, it was all over but the gobbling. 

There were twelve dogs in class; they come in one at a time.  The 12 will be broken into two groups for the next class.  Each dog got three turns throughout the class.  The first time they come in and there's about a dozen smallish boxes on the floor and food has been put in five of them.  As they clean out a box, the instructor put more in a couple of them, so the dogs get 7 finds.  Gimme was so fast it was almost like not getting our money's worth.  Of course her little bit of tracking experience helped, since she knew the moment I put the line on her tracking harness, its time to use your nose.  The second time we came in there were only three finds - it went by so fast I almost missed it.

Most of the dogs were slow and tentative.  Two others were eager, one was a Yellow Labrador that was almost as fast as Gimme.  There were several shy and fearful dogs.  A couple red bandana reactive dogs.  Nosework is set up with these dogs in mind, so everyone can play and be comfortable and successful.  One of the dogs in class is nearly blind and by her third turn she was really getting it and was quite methodical in her search for the food.  They all showed clear improvement by their third turn.

On the third turn, the instructor flapped the lid closed on one of the Yellow Lab's boxes.  For Gimme's third try, the lid was flapped closed and that box was set inside another deep box.  It never even slowed her down.  She was so sure she was the best, I fully expected her to break out in a high five.  We are both looking forward to the next class. 

Catching up on other things that have been going on

Last Saturday when I brought Gimme in to train after I taught agility, she got over the distraction much faster - in about half the time.  She did well focusing on what I wanted for most of our little session, except at one point where she kept losing focus.  I was trying to help her, but she finally just threw her little paws up and said, "Mom, I can't do this."  Before I could stop her she ran to the far corner of the arena and pooped.  After that she came right back to me and was ready to give me her all again.  She really is such a good little worker. 

Afterward we went to the fort to walk and had a nice time.  It had been lightly raining earlier, but it stopped long enough for us to walk and then started again as we were driving away.  The rest of our day was spent working on the living room.  I think I mentioned that we are tearing out the carpeting and needless to say its a big dirty job.  I'm reorganizing and getting shed of junk while I'm at it. 

On Sunday I played hooky from church and Gimme and I spent the whole day working on the living room.  She isn't nearly as much help as she thinks she is, but its not for lack of trying.  I needed to run some errands too, so I broke them up into groups.  Thus we were home for awhile, then in the car and running errands and then back home again and repeating...  For the two earlier trips in the day, the DAP worked very well for Gimme and she was quiet and peaceful.  For the last trip, around 4:30, she was fussy again.  It was a quick run to Home Depot and I stopped twice on the way.  But when I came out of HD after about half an hour, she was all settled in and quiet.  I thought for sure that meant that I simply needed to give her more time for the DAP to take affect.

Monday is one of my longer work days, so I expected Gimme would not get much help from the DAP.  Still I gave her a good fifteen minutes to settle in and she sure seemed that way when I got in the car.  Still I didn't get but a block and a half, with four stops along the way, before she was whining again.  That put us by the park.  I tried several variations on a theme to figure out what would get the message across to her.  Sometimes they seemed to work, but only for a short time or one or two repetitions and then she was back to full force whining.  The moment I moved the car or sometimes even started the car, she started in again.  I basically wasn't making any forward movement, now and then a few feet.

Since I was so close to home, I buttoned up the car to keep her safe and walked home.  There I picked a book, as well as the earplugs I use when I run my saw.  When I got back I got in the car, plugged up and read a couple chapters.  Gimme finally settled down after which I read a couple more pages.  Then I started the car and drove about half a block before needing to pull over again.  Turned off the car, plugged up and started reading again.  The next try I got almost a whole block before having to pull over.  I repeated this, but soon had to leave off the reading because it was getting too dark to read, so I practiced my deep breathing exercises while I waited.

I did a few things different than what I've been doing before - other than the obvious.  I did change the criteria.  She has to lay down and stop whining - no cue, just do it.  Then I did 15 deep breaths (takes just under a minute) before starting the car and taking off.  I thought that gave her more time to be solid in the behavior and the deep breathing on my part might change the "energy" in the car.  It also gives me time to scan the mirrors and pick a time to start up the car and re-enter traffic.

I also relaxed my standards for what constitutes whining as far as it relates to stopping the car. I just wasn't sure how much of what sounds like whining to me, she is even aware of doing.  Obviously some of it she is, since she has shown some conscious control of it.  But then some of the squeak-breathing type whining may be a stress thing that she doesn't have awareness of.  So my criteria for pulling over was a subjective judgment call on my part of when it sounded like she was "actively whining".

Each time, the distances got longer and the time it took her to settle down seemed to get shorter.  I used the breaks while waiting for her to settle down again to put my jacket on and get my food pouch on and leash ready.  Then the last segment of the drive was FOUR BLOCKS and into parking at Capitol Lake. I was practically dancing in my seat and literally singing and yakking at her to distract her for the last half block and into a parking space so she wouldn't whine before I could leap out of the car and get her out.  I wanted her to be successful and to get an immediate payoff.

I think the reason this worked is that by waiting for her to do a behavior that physically simulates calmness and then having her hold it... she was actually getting into to a calm state before we moved on again.  There is scientific evidence that acting like a specific emotion causes people to feel that emotion, so it stands to reason it would work for dogs as well.  Before, by responding so soon, she was never actually calm - just quiet.  For instance, if I tense up and hold my breath, I may be quiet, but I won't be calm... and I can't be quiet that way very long.

I took a back way home and only had to pull over twice.  That's huge.  But then, she's always done better on the way home.

Tuesday night is our CGC class.  Earlier in the day, after working one of my stores, we went to the fort to walk.  Gimme did well on the ride to my store and then afterward toward the fort.  I made it a point to stop before she could recognize where we were going and let her out of her crate.  I'm giving her peanut butter in her ball to distract her, like a pacifier.  Had to stop twice to refill it, but at least she was able to arrive in a more relaxed mindset.  She was relaxed and quiet on the way home.

On the way to class, we only had to stop twice and Gimme very quickly settled down again.  I was very pleased with how much progress she's made in such a short time.  However, once we got there she was very whiny, wanting out of the car right away.  Fortunately we were about half an hour early (I'd left home with a lot of time to spare in case we had to stop more often), so I had a lot of time to sit and wait for her to get calm again. 

Class was even more chaotic this time around, the dogs were "heeling" (read that being dragged and jerked around in a circle).  Gimme and me aren't doing anything the way the class is being done.  I'm just there to use the environment and the instructor knows better than to even suggest anything to me. 

Next time I'm going to change how I do things for Gimme.  The class is just too much for her to take in.  I'm going to set up in the alcove near the far door.  That will have us a little farther away and the lighting there is a little dim.  I'm going to set her crate at an angle so when she comes out, she can work behind her crate - acting like a visual barrier.  Plus we can go out that door periodically to give her a complete break from the chaos.  I can't use the other door because the two stupidest students keep parking on either side of it and they haven't mastered the concept of getting their dogs to come in close enough so someone can actually come through there with a dog.  (imagine me rolling my eyes to heaven)

After class we went for a very long walk along the Percival Landing boardwalk.  Its a nice way to relax after class and Gimme thoroughly enjoys the sniffing and snooping.  She was quiet as a little church mouse on the way home.

Wednesday is another long work day for me, though it wasn't too bad this week.  Not much merchandise came in, so I had a shorter than usual day.  I left home with Gimme in plenty of time to allow for a lot of stopping on our way to nosework class.  But then didn't need to stop even once!!!  WOOHOO!!!  I was so proud of her, that was a huge improvement and especially on a day when she'd been cooped up for most of it.  I was so happy with her I had goose bumps all over me.

Naturally once we got there she was insistent that she had to get out RIGHT NOW.  I sat with her for awhile until she got quiet and calm again before getting out of the car.  It didn't really help long term since she resumed carrying-on the moment I left.  She knew where she was and was just sure class couldn't start without her.  When her turn came, I went out to get her a little early so I could wait out any whining, but she very quickly figured out the drill.  Interestingly after her first turn, she was quiet for the remainder of class (two hours), only fussing a little when I went to get her.  So we'll see how it goes next week.  If the same pattern is present, I may try taking her out of the car for a quick walk before class and see if that satisfies her.

Today, Thursday seemed to start out quiet on our way to the fort.  But then halfway there she started whining and I ended up stopping three times without getting to the place where I intended to break out the pacifier.  I was close enough on the last stop, so once she was whine-free again, I let her out and we used the pacifier to get to the fort.  Naturally when we got there, she immediately pooped, so I'm wondering if that was the problem all along.  Bad mommy.

Since it had been a stressful ride, I opted to leave the treat bag and clicker in the car, planning to just walk.  Never do that.  Even if you don't plan to train, always be prepared for the possibility.  Naturally, even though we haven't seen a horse in over a month, today we did and I didn't have anything to reward her with. 

So the rest of our day has been uneventful.  Still puttering on the living room project from hell.  Still enjoying snuggle and play time with the Cutest Puppy on the Planet.

Every Silver Lining Has a Cloud

About a thousand years ago, when I was a teen, an adult friend told me "Every Silver Lining Has a Cloud".  At the time I was "in loooooove" and she was trying to explain to me that all those things I most loved about the guy would reveal the things that would most annoy me one day.  Basically, the flip side of the traits you love are the things that are most likely to be crazy-making over time.  The idea was to consider it from that point of view to be sure you'll be able to live with both sides of those traits.  As it turned out, the object of my affection didn't feel the same way, so I didn't really apply or learn the lesson.

Later when I married, I didn't even think about what she said.  Six years later when I divorced the guy, I thought about it a LOT.  Sure enough, many of the traits I enjoyed when we were dating, were right there in the middle of what drove me bonkers.  I won't go into detail, since 17 years later it still makes my blood boil to remember life with the ex-butthead.

I've since looked at that lesson with fresh eyes and it really applies to almost anything.  I can apply it to friends and I see that the things I love about them are revealing to traits that are not so lovable (to me - other people will have different loves and annoyances).  This works for the friends that stay and those that don't.  It definitely works for any relationships. 

It also works for puppies.  When I first began to wonder if Gimme was "The One", she was less than 24 hours old and had just climbed over her mother to look for faucets on the other side and not finding any, made the more arduous climb back.  I loved the no fear attitude and persistence she showed - AT LESS THAN ONE DAY OLD.

Later she was the puppy that was caught motoring down the hallway after having her nails done, while the other puppies were sound asleep in the basket.  She was among the first to escape confinement from the puppy pen.  She was the puppy that ruled the roost and told the other puppies what to do.  She did have some difficulty with one puppy, but the others pretty much let her have her way.  The puppy who is now named Grace is also strong willed, while the other puppies are more mellow in temperament, more like their mother.  In any case, the signs of who Gimme would be were plentiful.

When I was there to get her, once she decided I was acceptable and adoption-worthy, she also decided none of the other puppies were allowed to get in my lap.  When one of the girls came back a second time after being run off and Gimme discovered her in my lap - to say the least, her response was not endearing and it took quite awhile for her to settle down again.  She screamed bloody murder for the whole very long drive to the airport when she experienced her first real confinement in the carry-on luggage.  These were definitely signs of who she would be.

What did I expect from Gimme?  I expected her to be brilliant, definitely too damn smart for her own good.  I expected her to have a mind of her own.  I expected her to be both very confident and very persistent, in good and in bad ways.  I expected Gimme to have a Queen of the Universe attitude.  I also suspected she would be over-the-top in how she approached things, but didn't really know how that would manifest itself.  I already knew how cute she was and how hard it would be to resist that little pixie face. 

She is ten times smarter than I ever anticipated - after all, she did invent 'sitting to demand things' after just one bite of cheese-n-cracker.  She has also invented an impressive and sophisticated freestyle move that other people spend months teaching their dogs.  If I want her to do things my way, I let her think its her idea and make sure it pays very well.  She always thinks she is the one training me.  Her confidence and persistence is a challenge OFTEN.  I really have to work hard to set limits for her because most of the naughte' things she does are also too too funny.  (Note the European spelling for naughty - its so much better that way)  

I put her toy basket up out of reach, so she redefined her reach and then I caught her perched on things 6 feet off the ground getting into her basket.  [She had already dumped most of her toys on the floor and was just waiting up there so I'd have a chance to notice her stellar accomplishment.]  She is part monkey and she has no fear.  It doesn't occur to her that I meant for her to not get in the basket and spread her toys all over the place - rather she believed I must have wanted to give her a new challenge to work through and she doesn't want to disappoint my faith in her abilities.  I work hard to stay ahead of her.  Gimme actually thinks she was Queen of the Universe, but now she is Empress of the Cosmos.  

Although the signs that she would be over-the-top in how she approached things were all there, I had no clue what that would mean in our life together.  This has become the area of our greatest challenge.  Some dogs (Gimme is definitely one) would be a disaster in the average pet home, and yet in the right home they get their needs met and the training they need.  Living with Gimme is a lot like living with a gifted child.  She gives 200% to everything she does.  And that applies to getting distracted and wound up as well as it does to outsmarting me and playing with me and loving me and training me.  When she gets aroused, she has real difficulty getting back to a normal state.  When she is frustrated, she has difficulty dealing with those emotions too.  She tends toward reactivity.  These are all things we work on. 

The reason I often don't talk about this side of Gimme is because the terminology used to describe these aspects of her personhood have become so emotion-laden among dog people and I don't want to give the wrong impression of my darling girl.  These terms have been applied so often to dogs with serious aggression issues, that they've almost become synonymous with aggression.  That's not the case with Gimme and I'm sure its not the case with many dogs, though I suspect it could be if they are not taught to deal with these emotions constructively.  I've worn out a few Thesaurus looking for different words that are still accurate, but haven't found any.  The dictionary defines these terms as:

• Aroused: aroused to action, emotionally aroused and brought to a state of great tension.
• Frustration: the feeling that accompanies an experience of being thwarted in attaining your goals. 
• Reactive: participating readily in reactions and tending to react to a stimulus. 

These definitions describe Gimme more accurately.  Whining is just one manifestation of this side of her personality.  While whining drives me to distraction and is a safety hazard when I'm driving, teaching her to ride in the car without whining is about more than that.  Gimme needs help learning to calm down - its not her first choice.  So I've always tried to promote behaviors that have her in a thinking brain state as opposed to a reacting brain state.  Ursula has helped us a lot with this.  Since the whining behavior was getting worse (when it first started it was quite insignificant) and other approaches didn't work, she wasn't in a thinking brain.  I don't know if it started out as stress, but I think it was becoming a stressor.  Even a good stress is still physiologically stress, causing the same physical wear and tear on the body and mind. 

BTW -- Ever notice how behavior problems are like weight gain?  Its starts out so innocent and insignificant enough.  Just an ounce here and a whine there.  Then one day you notice a pair of pants feels a little tight across the beam and the whining is starting earlier and earlier on the drive.  But you make an excuse for it.  Must be water weight gain.  Or, oh jeez, she's just excited to get there and spend time with me.  Then it gets a bit worse, sliding straight into annoying.  Your wardrobe shrinks because of all the clothes you can't fit into.  The whining is now applied to other outtings.  Damned annoying, but still livable.  Then one day the airlines charges you for an extra seat and the dog is shrieking in your ear while you are trying to focus on traffic.  Okay, maybe that's a bit of an exaggeration... but you get the picture.  

Hmmmm, did you ever notice that good behavior doesn't mushroom and bloom in quite the same way?

Moral of this segue -- Don't beat-up on yourself (or anyone else) for not noticing a developing problem.  It happens.  Be glad you noticed it before the dog-abuse-police (or the fat police) came to drag you away.  Get good advice, knuckle down and commit to solving the problem and doing better from here on.

Now where was I?  Oh yaaah. 

If Gimme is going to be all that she has the potential to be, then its my job as Mommy to shape and mold her to adopt behavior patterns that tend toward a thinking brain.  We are making headway and still, it may take years to get "there".  Is it sometimes frustrating to me?  You betcha.  Is it a challenge?  Most definitely.  Is it a lot of work?  Absolutely.  Is it satisfying when we achieve snippets of success along the way?  Without a doubt. 

Do I still love Gimme with every fiber of my being?  Is Gimme still my darling?  Is Gimme still the center of my universe?  You are nuts if you even have to ask. 

You know, how over-the-top would manifest itself isn't the only thing I didn't anticipate about Gimme.

She was always too cute for words and that hasn't changed.  She continues to be the most incredible people magnet.  So if there are people around, I'm going to have to allow extra time, a lot of extra time, to answer questions and let them all pet her.  At the specialty, people who are used to cute Dalmatians still had to touch this one - even if they didn't say a word to me.  There is a quality about her that simply draws people to her.

I've since noticed something very unusual about her magnetism.  Last week when we walked at Capitol Lake a man struck up a conversation about Gimme, pronouncing her beautiful.  I'm so used to people wanting to pet her that I unconsciously started moving closer to him, then he asked me to stay back because he is afraid of dogs!  I thought that was odd, since most people who are afraid of dogs don't even want to talk about them or talk to you if you have one with you.  Then on Sunday night when we were walking, it happened again.  A man asked many questions about her, said she was gorgeous and then asked me if I could keep her really still.  You see, he too is afraid of dogs, but he still really really reeeeeally wanted to touch her.  Gimme was completely happy to get a non-stop stream of treats and he petted her for quite awhile, saying she was every bit as nice to touch as she was to look at. 

I think this means she has the gift of healing and I'm as thrilled as I can be about it.  Gimme and me are having some talks about how much more healing she can do if she learns how to be a little more moderate in her behavior toward people.  I'm not sure she is convinced, but I'll just have to show her how persistent I can be. 

Gimme isn't perfect, she doesn't have to be.  She is perfect for me.