Shellie's Behavior Issues Progress

[cprcheetah]

Figured I would post a post about what I am doing with Shellie and how she is coming along:
12/5
I heard back from her original owners who purchased her at a petstore in Tennessee. :-( So that explains some of her issues. I am working with her.
Todays Exercise: 1 hour at lunch 1 hour when mom got home from work, right now she is entertaining herself, surprisingly enough on a frozen raw stuffed kong......she lays on her side and just licks it to death, her mouth gets all frothy LOL! As far as response, she is showing signs of improvement in responding to commands. However she is still EXTREMELY pushy when it comes to coming inside from when she's outside, nearly knocks me over, so we are working on that, I have her sit at the door, then keep sitting and moving an inch or two and click/treating her. Following some of the advice in Power of Positive Dog Training book, and The Other End of the Leash. I do see small improvements however she's still super active and energetic, and only stays calm/relaxed for minutes at a time. My trainer friend suggested maybe hiding treats in boxes etc to have her work/focus on things and getting some energy out. *MAY* have someone who will let me use their indoor pool for her to swim in for therapy for her joints and more exercise.....although funny enough Shellie isn't super fond of water lol.....go figure :-P She definitely is missing Ziva, she goes outside and stands at the door for a bit waiting for me to let Ziva out with her :(

[Donna Little]

It's tough to keep the attention of a super active dog. We have had the same problem with rushing the door at my house. I have 10 dogs here and Bailey is my problem. If she's taken out of the situation I can go to the door, tell everyone to "wait", and they'll still be eager to go out but will sit or stand calmly until I allow them to go. No barking or jumping. Bailey just can't seem to even look at me she's so intently focused on the door opening. And she's barking, growling and leaping around like an idiot. If I don't remove her or single her out she'll get the other dogs riled up and then it's total chaos. It's difficult too when you have dogs like Toby that drinks tons of water and NEEDS to go pee when he says he does, to stand there waiting patiently for ONE dog to calm down. Ugggg.....
I know you wish you could explain to Shellie too what happened to Ziva. You know the poor girl doesn't understand where her friend is. I wish you all the best in helping her to become a better family member and that the potential pool will work out. That sounds like it could really be great for her. Keep up posted on her progress!

[Maxy24]

It's great to see that you're working with Shellie and learning everything you can. The door behavior should progress nicely, just be consistent and never let her push her way in! I just want to caution that trying to occupy her 24/7 can make things worse, she'll grow to expect it and suffer if she can't get the constant stimulation. I think you should implement some "forced" down time when it seems appropriate (she didn't JUST finish exercising, isn't full of energy, but is just being restless). Put her on a leash, give her something to chew and let her be while you watch TV or something. If she relaxes for a little while she can be let off. I think it's important she learn how to relax when there is nothing particularly fun to do. She can still do something (chew a toy) but it should be something she can do without your help in the future. What's she going to do if you haven't stuffed a kong or prepared some other occupying item for her? I'm in no way saying you shouldn't do these things, they are great ways to stimulate the mind, but I think settling down and having some patience must be taught too.


Self control games might be good to do too. Susan Garrett has some great ones so I hear. I've seen "it's yer choice" and heard a LOT about "crate games", so try youtubeing those. I think I'm gonna get crate games for Christmas.


Keep us updated!!

[cprcheetah]

So far Shellie has an extremely hard time with 'forced' down time UNLESS she's in her crate and no one is in the room that her crate is in......so that's something we are going to work on as well.....is how to 'chill' lol.

[DaneMama]

So far Shellie has an extremely hard time with 'forced' down time UNLESS she's in her crate and no one is in the room that her crate is in......so that's something we are going to work on as well.....is how to 'chill' lol.

So every time she "chills" on her own...JACKPOT her with at least 20-30 small pieces of her favorite treats. Don't say anything or make it a big deal. Just give one small treat after another like rapid fire. You don't want to get her too excited or it defeats the purpose. Jackpot her every time she settles on her own and she will do it more often without you having to ask!

So glad to hear that things are coming along well with her behavior. It takes a lot of time and patience...keep up the good work!