Hello to all! Introduction thread

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ScarletSci
Posts: 463
Joined: Mon Feb 04, 2013 3:44 pm

Hello to all! Introduction thread

Post by ScarletSci »

Hi to all! I've been a fan of Victoria's work for many years, but have only just discovered the forums. I have a feeling that I'll be needing a lot of support and advice over the coming months as I've just got my first puppy, and she's settling into a multi-pet household!

My name is Jasmine, I'm a mature student working to get a psychology degree, and I work part-time as a support worker for adults with learning difficulties. When I began my studies I moved back in with my parents, and I now have to stay here for the considerable future because my mom is on a waiting list for spinal surgery sometime this year, and I need to be around to help out with the house since she's struggling so much.

Now, the animals! We have two parrots, two cats, and now two dogs (we're not building an ark, I promise), plus birds and fish in the garden. We've always had a lot of animals, usually two dogs at a time and cats as well.

Jack, the Springer/Cocker is 6 years old and absolutely gorgeous. Very sweet natured and naturally very well behaved even when he was a puppy, we've been a bit spoiled with him. The only behaviours that have ever been of concern is that despite an immense amount of socialisation from when he was a puppy, he's of a nervous disposition when it comes to some things. Not enough to impede his life generally, he's a happy, bouncy ball of fun the majority of the time; but he's a bit scared of strangers, and occasionally something will spook him when we're out and about and he'll flip very suddenly into panic mode. Some help with this would be great, because while we haven't had any disasters as a result, if the object/person that has spooked him is between him and I, he will flee in the opposite direction rather than come to me. Because his fear isn't tied to a particular thing, it's been very hard to work with him on this. He can go for months without having a flip out, but suddenly be spooked by a cyclist or a man carrying fishing equipment. It makes it hard to predict what might set him off and work on de-sensitising him.

Pixie is the 13 week old addition to the family. We were told she was a Springer Spaniel, but when we viewed her she was obviously too small to be a pure Springer. But I didn't mind since a smaller dog would suit the household better, and she's gorgeous. We suspected that she is a Springer crossed with a terrier of some type, and as she's growing she looks more and more like a terrier in her build, but with adorable spaniel ears, a long tail and some feathering coming through. Her personality is terrier through and through! More bold than Jack, with a naughty streak and very selective hearing, but full of fun and wants to play with everyone and everything! Her training is coming on well and she's highly food-motivated, which always helps!

There are some teething issues in getting the two dogs settled with each other. Pixie is dying to play with Jack, and they have played together a few times, which is encouraging. But she is still quite nippy, and Jack is pretty jealous of her. He certainly doesn't think that it's fair that she gets fed four times a day when he doesn't! He will gently tell her off if she's getting too much, which she completely ignores. They sleep in separate rooms with a doggy gate between them and they're supervised during the day so we can distract her and redirect if she's getting too much for Jack. But he is no doubt jealous of the attention she gets, and has been growling at her when she approaches him even when she's calm (no doubt because she couldn't resist leaping for his ears and tail, and he's wary of more of that), and he sometimes seems sad that she's getting attention, refusing to participate. I've been leading play sessions in the garden which shows signs of working, and I'm working hard on teaching Pixie to "leave it" and to be "gentle", both of which she's getting the hang of when she isn't bubbling over with puppy excitement!

It's difficult though. Jack has been used to being the spoiled baby for 6 years now, and while we try really hard to keep it balanced and he's getting just as much love and interaction as always, he is still jealous. This is sad because we all adore Jack and want him to be happy, and also because I got Pixie partly for his sake. Jack was attacked and bitten badly by a staffie in October last year, and while he hasn't shown any problems with other dogs, he had developed some separation anxiety connected with my mum. Since she is disabled she doesn't go out that often or for very long, but when she did he'd begun to howl, something he didn't do when any other people go out. We did a lot of work with him and the separation anxiety had improved a lot, but with my mum due for surgery which will require a long hospital stay and recovery period, I'd hoped that a canine friend would help him with that strong attachment to my mum.

On the plus side, Pixie will be able to go out for walks as of next week, and I'm hoping that walks and playing together will help them to bond more. They will curl up on the sofa together for a sleep, so perhaps I'm just hoping for too much too soon? Getting a hyper, teething puppy has been a huge adjustment for the whole household, so maybe I'm expecting too much by imagining that they will be best friends in a few short weeks. Pixie had her first puppy party through the vets surgery last week, and her behaviour was fantastic - the perfect blend of confident and playful without being too overbearing! I'd like for her confidence to rub off of on Jack, rather than his nervousness on her, but mostly I'd just like them both to be happy and to enjoy each other as much as we enjoy them. I'll work as hard as necessary to make that happen.

Wow, that was much longer than I'd intended! So hello there, any advice will be very welcome, or just a hi! I'm enjoying reading around the boards and it would be great to meet other dog lovers on here.
WufWuf
Posts: 1371
Joined: Thu May 12, 2011 7:53 am

Re: Hello to all! Introduction thread

Post by WufWuf »

Hey there, that's a big gang you've got going on. Looking forward to hearing more about them :D .
Operant conditioning rocks but classical conditioning rules
ScarletSci
Posts: 463
Joined: Mon Feb 04, 2013 3:44 pm

Re: Hello to all! Introduction thread

Post by ScarletSci »

Hey! Thanks for the response :-D

I've been enjoying reading around the boards, and I'm learning a lot already. I've always used positive training methods with the dogs we've had throughout my life, but I didn't realise just how out of date a lot of my knowledge is. Don't get me wrong, I didn't use any negative reinforcement beyond a stern voice for potentially serious behaviour, but even things like crate training are new to me! Since Jack was such an easy to train and keen to please puppy, I didn't have to do much additional reading for him until he started getting the slight SA last year.

You do still hear so much about dominance and old fashioned training methods, even at a training class I tried once with Jack - so finding a forum where it's clear to see how much dog knowledge and training has come along even in my 30 years on the planet, is hugely encouraging! I want to do the very best for Pixie and Jack, so I'm just trying to take it all in. I've loved reading the advice from some of the trainers on the boards, it's great to see. I think I'll be sticking around, I want to learn more! :-D
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