Day 9 -- Out and About

Mollie got some good socialization in today. We went to the local pet supply store to look for a lunge whip toy for her to try out. Going out in public is a whole different ball game for dogs. Mollie does great with paying attention to me in a familiar environment but it's much more difficult to do that in a new situation with new people. I came prepared with string cheese. At home I can use more low value treats but out in public I'm going to break out the good, smelly stuff. I also started working on her attention before we ever got into the building. Basically I was priming her. When we got inside, I stayed as far away from the distractions as I could so I could still maintain her eye contact. When I had to go towards the distraction to do out shopping, I just picked her up. I don't want her to practice pulling on the leash (something that is very rewarding for dogs) and luckily she's still tiny and easy to carry.

Mollie is a pretty social girl but we still want her experiences meeting new people to very positive. The employees at this store are well versed in this and come prepared with tasty treats.

Mollie responding to her name by looking at me. This is a good indication that she is managing this level of distraction well.

Even just short little outings like this will wear a girl out. Sinbad was kind enough to share his bed with her...

Well, for a minute anyway.

When puppies sleep, it's a good time to get caught up on things around the house. When they are this age, they need to be watched all the time or confined in their crate or a small room. Puppies will definitely keep you on your toes and now it's time for me to put my feet up...

Day 8 -- Resisting Temptations

Mollie is working on self-control and responding to her people even around high distractions. She's a playful girl and LOVES playing with other animals. But this may or may not be the cats most favorite thing. I like to work with cats and dogs first with a barrier. This gate works great for my bigger dogs because Mo, the cat, can go through the cat door but they can't. That gives Mo her own space away from the dogs if she wants. Of course, Mollie is so small now she could squeeze through that cat door but she won't always be that small.

So now I can work with Mollie on attention and responding to my cues when the cat is around without the worry of the cat running off and Mollie chasing after her. If she is barking at the cat, I can tell her "that's enough" and redirect her to another toy or practicing our training. If she continues to bark, I can say "too much" and put her in a quick timeout in her crate. It really does not pay off for her to bark at the other animals. This is still a work in progress for her but she is getting much better. A little barking is ok in play with other dogs but demand barking when they won't play with her or have her favorite chew toy is not in good form. Barking at cats, well, they're never going to like that.

And with practice, she can pay attention to me even when the cat is around. She is to the point where I can trust her in the same room with the cat with just periodic reminders to behave herself around the kitty.

Rewards? When we are practicing or I catch her behaving exceptionally well, I can reward her with play or an occasional treat and always lots of praise. I also discovered recently that she really enjoys a full body rub down. I start at the ears and rub her sides. It just about puts her in a trance.

But let's not forget, our training sessions always start with giving her a chance to exercise...so Mollie RUN!

And RUN!!!

And RUN!!! Luckily, she doesn't need a whole lot of space to do this. I planted a tree in the middle of my smallish dog yard and the dogs are very content to run circles around it and chase each other. I thought I would also introduce her to a lunge toy and see how she does with that.

Day 7 -- Tempting Feet

Mollie is learning better ways to get attention than chewing on feet. I start out with more boring feet with just socks and no movement. When she tries to chew my feet, I interrupt her ("ah ah ah" while clapping my hands) and redirect her to another activity like playing with a toy. She is quickly figuring out that sitting in front of me is going to get her a lot of attention. I make sure I reward her when she does this and, at the least, I tell her how fabulous she is and rub her ears. If I have a toy handy, I'll play with her. When she got better at this I would try to tempt her by wiggling my feet. She's doing great with the socks!

So now on to something more tempting like fuzzy slippers. These are harder for her. She does great when my feet are still but struggles when they are moving. I'll work with her some more on my still feet and build up to fuzzy slippers moving. When she's really solid on that, I'll move on to wrapped feet in bright colors as I know that is very tempting for her.

We are reinforcing this behavior in a lot of other aspects of her life too. She is doing a great job sitting for her meals, sitting to go outside, sitting to come back inside, sitting before I put her leash on, and sitting for attention. I try hard to catch her offering the behavior so I can praise her every time she does it. She is much more likely to repeat behaviors that pay off for her so I want sitting for things to pay off much more than demanding things does.

To help her be more successful I'm making sure there is plenty of things for her to chew on. Her jaw is still growing and she'll be losing her baby teeth soon so she has a physical need to chew. If I catch her laying on a dog bed chewing on a chew toy, I slowly stroke her and tell her what a good girl she is.

Sinbad is even willing to give her the bone...maybe so she doesn't chew on him.

All this hard work makes a girl tired. She's even starting to enjoy snuggle time on my lap. Such a nice way for us to end our day.

Day 6 -- On the Move

Mollie is always on the move but that doesn't mean she shouldn't move in a nice polite and controlled manner. It's uncomfortable walking a dog who is pulling at the leash and it can sometimes cause physical damage to the dog and the owner. In order to teach a dog how to walk politely on the leash we have to reward them when the are in the correct position (right next the seam of your pants) and not reward them when they are in the incorrect position (ahead of you, off to the side or behind you). This can be tricky because it's important to reward precisely when they are in the correct position. It is easy to inadvertently reward her for incorrect positioning.

Walking ahead of you is rewarding to the dog. If it's allowed, it's like giving them a cookie for pulling on the leash. We definitely don't want to reward that behavior. So a good rule to follow is, you only move forward when she is walking nicely beside you. As soon as she moves ahead, stop.

Encourage her to return to you and, when she is walking nicely with you for a few steps, begin rewarding her again.

When she is in the learning phase, make sure her practice sessions are in a low distraction environment. She won't get much learning done if she can't focus. Exercise ahead of time well help quite a bit too.

One of the nice things about exercise is that it's a great time to teach as well. When Mollie is playing with other puppies, I make sure that I am right there to intervene right away if needed. If one of the dogs is playing too rough, I need to step in and tell them to settle. If one dog is pinning the other for more than a few seconds, I need to intervene. Sometimes the dog on the bottom can get frustrated by being pinned. Sometimes they are ok with it. But you don't want the dog on top to get too full of herself. In our relationships with dogs, we want to be good leaders. They should look to us to step in when needed and teach them appropriate behavior.

Day 5 -- Handling

Being held is not Mollie's favorite thing so we definitely don't want to use that as a reward for her. That would be like using a root canal to reward a person for a good deed. But we do want her to be accepting of people handling her. It's not comfortable when a puppy is super mouthy when we try to hold them for grooming, vet visits, etc. I start out by getting a dog use to handling after they have had plenty of exercise and there is not a lot going on around them. Our first sessions are short just to get her used to it. If she's struggling, I just wait her out. She's not let down until she is quiet and calm. As she gets better at it I will add more time and I will start to handle her in more distracting environments.

With practice, she can be tolerant of things like trimming her nails (something most dogs dislike).

I have also been handling her feet a lot just when we are relaxing so she is comfortable with this process. I do the same thing with handling of her mouth, her ears, and her tail.

And, of course, periodic food treats will help make this a more pleasant process for her.

Part of what makes these sessions successful is being able to read Mollie's body language. If she was doing a play stance or in the middle of play, I wouldn't chose that as the time to work on something that might be challenging for her like the grooming and handling. I don't want her to associate it with things that she doesn't really care for like ending play.

We're continuing with her socialization, introducing her to new people and new things. I can also use opportunities like this to work on her attention to me in more and more distracting environments. Rico the miniature donkey was particularly challenging for her. When I couldn't get her attention by saying her nail, I put a good smelling treat right under her nose, wiggled the treat and lured her back to me. 

Day 4 - Road Trip!

All ready for our road trip today! She got exercise before we left and toys and a stuffed Kong for the car ride.

I like to have her travel in the crate because it's the safest way for her to travel and it keeps her out of trouble. She is excellent at riding in the car in her crate and she was very easy to travel with.

We took lots of breaks to use the bathroom and to do training along the way. Because she is not fully vaccinated yet I'm careful not to take her to areas where dogs I do not know have gone to the bathroom. Her risks of contracting something are pretty low if precautions are taken. On the other hand, the risk of behavior issues that could occur if she is not properly socialized is pretty high.

 So we spent time just letting her take in the world. It's nice that she is such a brave girl. It makes the socialization process so much easier.

Finally we arrive and there was a ton of new things to explore, including new service dog puppies. I learned some really valuable things about Mollie too. Despite our training sessions along the way and things to entertain her in the car, this was a day where she clearly did not get enough exercise. The combo of that and the overstimulating environment showed me some of her behaviors that we need to work on. She was easily frustrated and pretty mouthy where she hadn't been over the last several days. It was definitely time for her to run!

 So this morning she can run!

And Play!

Sniff and do other doggie things.

 And we can work on her skills like a quick head turn when I call her name even when she's playing with her friends.

And practice her recalls (coming when called). Her behavior is much more agreeable when her exercise and mental stimulation needs are being met. Now off to work some more on her leash skills.

Day 3 -- Vet Visit

Mollie did well at the vet today! I love to use those opportunities as a teaching moment. There are a lot of new people, smells, sounds, other animals, etc. for Mollie to see and experience. I can also practice maintaining her attention while there are new things going on around her. She did really well and got a lot of very small treats when she made eye contact with me. She also got treats when the veterinarian was doing her exam. It can be scary to a dog when someone suddenly starts putting instruments in their ears and looking in their mouth. If I pair those things with something she really likes, it can create a positive association with that procedure. That, of course, means that I need to know what things are rewarding to her. Mollie will tolerate being held but you can tell it's not her favorite because she wiggles around to get free and sometimes mouths the person holding her. This clearly would not be a good way to reward her. It's good for her to be comfortable with people holding her but that doesn't mean that would be what you would use to reward her.

Because this is a new environment for Mollie, I want to make sure that I'm not forcing her into a situation where she is uncomfortable. She had a chance to explore the new environment at the vet at her own pace. If she seemed nervous about something in the environment, I might approach the object and touch it but I wouldn't force her to come see it. I'd just let her approach when she felt comfortable. Mollie does not show a lot of fearfulness right now but this can show up at other times during the developmental process. Exposing Mollie to new things in a way that doesn't overwhelm her will help to make sure she doesn't grow into a fearful dog.

After meeting a lot of new people and doing such a good job at the vet, it was good to get back to more training. The nice thing about practicing the new things Mollie has learned is that it helps get some of her energy out. We keep training sessions fun and active and Mollie LOVES that. She is happy to learn new things and continue practicing. If she starts to get into trouble in the house, like grabbing a slipper, I can redirect by doing some training with her. By doing that she learns that it pays off more to work with me than it does when she is being naughty in the house. One of the things that Mollie really enjoys doing is her recalls. She is in the beginning stages of learning to come when called.

She thinks it's a lot of fun and I like it because it helps with her energy level. She gets lots of praise and encouragement when she is running towards me and lots of little treats when she arrives. Plus, who doesn't love a dog who so enthusiastically comes to you when you call them?

And then we have a nice, quiet Mollie. Her nap time and my time to catch up on notes.

 Time to prepare for tomorrow's long car drive too. Mollie is really good in the crate and rides well in the car but I want to make sure there isn't a big explosion of energy once we get to our destination. I prepared some Kongs to challenge and entertain her. I put a little bit of Kong filling in mixed with a little bit of her kibble. I then put them in the freezer. The filling need not be anything fancy, it can be a little bit of plain yogurt or peanut butter mixed with kibble. Tomorrow, on our road trip, I can put those in her crate so she has something to work on while we drive. She'll still need exercise before we leave and after we arrive but this will help take the edge off.

Day 1 & 2 -- Introductions

Our theme for the week is channeling energy and self-control. We have started our week out with a lot of work on name recognition and attention work. It seems so simple to teach a dog their name but the trick comes in having a dog enthusiastically respond to their name no matter what is going on around them. It's easy to get caught in a trap of repeatedly calling a dog's name  before the dog ever looks at you or using the dog's name in a stern tone. We want to make sure Mollie has a really positive association with her name so you can get her attention no matter what is going on around her. I start out in a low distraction environment simply saying her name and giving her a treat. When she starts to turn her head when she hears her name, I change the criteria and wait for her eye contact. When she looks me in the eye, she gets rewarded. As she gets better, I'll start to add in more distractions. I'm going to be careful to only say her name once. If she doesn't give me eye contact when I say her name, I follow through with her by making noise, tapping her on the side, moving away from her, or wiggling a treat under her nose.

Mollie is learning to sit for things that she wants. She is sitting for her meals, going outside, playing with the other dogs, playing with me, coming back inside, clipping the leash on her collar, and getting pets from people. This teaches her some self-control and helps her regard people as the leaders in the pack.

Because of her age and the fact that she is teething, Mollie needs plenty to chew on. When she is chewing on a chew toy, I am gently stroking her and telling her what a good girl she is. I want her to get a lot of praise for chewing on appropriate items. If she does chew on furniture, rugs, etc. I redirect her to one of her toys. I interrupt her by saying "ah ah ah" while clapping my hands. No need to do it loudly, you can just use a normal tone of voice. When she stops, I praise her and give her a chew toy. If she does this several times and continues to chew inappropriately despite interruption, a quick time-out is in order. Time-outs are just a few minutes in a confined area (like a crate). If she is quiet, she can be released from the crate. She's very good in the crate so I haven't had to wait for her to quiet down before releasing her.

Mollie is doing pretty well with the other dogs in the house (in particular, Sinbad, pictured above). She plays well with them and listens well if they grumble under their breath to her. The times when she needs intervention is when the older dog is not setting boundaries for her. Sometimes a dog will just try to ignore the puppy which usually leads to her demand barking to get them to play with her. If my dogs don't say anything to her, I interrupt this behavior ("ah ah ah" while clapping my hands). If she doesn't listen after several attempts to interrupt, a quick time-out in the crate is warranted. If timed well, this gives her the clear instruction that she no longer gets to play if she continues with that behavior. Her reward for being quiet is the chance to play again.

And Mollie needs plenty of playtime. She is a busy girl and it's hard for her to show self-control if she has some pent up energy. Today is was raining so hard so we had to look for alternatives indoors. Teaching a dog new tricks or doing things with them where they have to think will help burn off some of that energy. I like to use puzzles that are made for dogs to help with this. These puzzles make the dog think and problem solve in order to find the hidden treats. Mollie loved this game! I also play a lot of fetch indoors on days like this. If she seems to be a mischievous mood, playing a game of tug or fetch with her is a great way to channel some of that energy. She is more than happy to practice walking on a leash or working on some of her other skills too. Mollie needs things to do otherwise she will find her own entertainment...and that's usually not a good thing.