I ran into my neighbours while out with Honey last week and they invited us to join them on a trip to the beach with their dog who Honey gets on with fine (she has told him off as he can be over excited and socially clueless but he takes it like a junior boy dog should take a telling off and I ensure this happens very rarely)
For those who don't know once upon a time Honey was an EXTREMELY reactive and fearful dog who would not only put on a massive show JRT stylee but would also beeline for any thing she even thought was a dog and fight and bite. ANY movement AT ALL required her shouting and screaming, basically she was an almighty mess with a ton of fears/phobias.
So once upon a time she wouldn't have a had a dog "friend" and I certainly wouldn't have gotten in a car with her and another dog and "non family" people but last week I did.
She was a STAR She did not run off or even think of running off to any of the many many dogs we saw. She recalled beautifully for first half of walk and then became magnatised by the hunting prospect in the dunes, so I'd recall her, she'd come back then end up following her nose back to the dunes so she had to go back on her long line. She did not shout at any dogs at all and when she did have to endure a sniffing from a stiff tailed dog she remained calm and extracted herself from the situation like a pro .
So for those of you that are struggling with fearful/reactive dogs, stay strong, things can get better with force free fun happy training methods you CAN turn around even "aggressive" dogs.
(Of course I didn't just hope for the best there was plenty of management involved and I did my upmost to give her plenty of distance from her triggers and kept her on her long line when appropriate.)
She REALLY wants to go hunting in the dunes (this was at the very end of the walk)
Awesome photobomb from her pal Oscar
Oscar's owners are some of her very favourite people
Honey's beach trip
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Honey's beach trip
Operant conditioning rocks but classical conditioning rules
Re: Honey's beach trip
This is fantastic I love Honey and I love that we can get a picture of the both of you!
Re: Honey's beach trip
Bless honey, she's such a little cutie....I'm sure if she could speak she would be thanking you for your patience and kindness
Re: Honey's beach trip
Thanks ladies
She looks a little tense in these pics but you can see she's not too worried by her tail position, just frustrated that she's being restrained from going where she wants to go.
Anyways here's a picture of her looking a little more relaxed so that I don't feel like such a mean doggy mammy
Oh and Yes that is poop on her neck .
She looks a little tense in these pics but you can see she's not too worried by her tail position, just frustrated that she's being restrained from going where she wants to go.
Anyways here's a picture of her looking a little more relaxed so that I don't feel like such a mean doggy mammy
Oh and Yes that is poop on her neck .
Operant conditioning rocks but classical conditioning rules
Re: Honey's beach trip
katej215 wrote:Bless honey, she's such a little cutie....I'm sure if she could speak she would be thanking you for your patience and kindness
Absolutely! Be proud of her and of you!
A dog is never bad or naughty - it is simply being a dog
SET YOURSELF UP FOR SUCCESS
SET YOURSELF UP FOR SUCCESS
Re: Honey's beach trip
Thanks NettleNettle wrote:Absolutely! Be proud of her and of you!
She's not an easy dog by any means and it really makes me laugh when people say things like "she's so small she must not need much exercise" , she's far too clever and I often wonder who's training who, but she's really turned into a wonderful dog. She did us proud over Christmas by being such a good guest (she even took herself off to her "blanky" while we ate which amazed my mother in law ) and life is so much more comfortable with her than I ever thought it would be.
BUT (and I think this is a really important point) if her exercise/entertainment needs aren't met she's a TOTAL nightmare (barky, growly, humpy dog who'll have a go at digging a hole in my leg if I don't do what madam wants ). It's really important that I stay on the ball with her and do my best to make sure the "unwanted behaviours" are not being reinforced unintentionally AND that she has appropriate outlets for her physical and mental energy.
As I'm sure most of you will know by now I adore the terrier traits and she makes me laugh every day with her shenanigans, I think this really makes a difference to me having the patience to deal with her (though I do tell her"I'm going to trade you in for a Shih Tzu" when she's being particularly feisty )
Operant conditioning rocks but classical conditioning rules
Re: Honey's beach trip
Ah - you are well on the way to being told how lucky you are that your dog is so well-behaved
A dog is never bad or naughty - it is simply being a dog
SET YOURSELF UP FOR SUCCESS
SET YOURSELF UP FOR SUCCESS
Re: Honey's beach trip
Oh Nettle I get this all the bloomin time to be honest it kinda makes me happy to hear it as it's better than what I used to hear ( what a horrible little nasty rat dog etc)Nettle wrote:Ah - you are well on the way to being told how lucky you are that your dog is so well-behaved
Operant conditioning rocks but classical conditioning rules
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Re: Honey's beach trip
Well done Honey and Wuf! She is gorgeous. I know JRTs are small, but I had no idea just how teeny tiny Honey was!
Re: Honey's beach trip
You and Honey should be rightfully proud of each other - you're both brilliant!
Jasper, lurcher, born December 2009
Re: Honey's beach trip
She's a titch, she's somewhere around 3.5kg/8lb around 25cm/10 inches at the shoulder. The other dog in the pic is about shih zsu sized and she makes him look like a giant when they are side by side. I keep meaning to get a pic of her with a tennis ball of comparison but she's a little to small to pick one up comfortably so I normally use a smaller ball and keep forgetting to fish out a tennis ball.Sweetie's Human wrote:Well done Honey and Wuf! She is gorgeous. I know JRTs are small, but I had no idea just how teeny tiny Honey was!
Thanks Judy She's the best teacher I could've ever asked for but if you'd told me that in the first year or so I had her I would have laughed (or cried ) .JudyN wrote:You and Honey should be rightfully proud of each other - you're both brilliant!
Operant conditioning rocks but classical conditioning rules
Re: Honey's beach trip
Great pictures and great job with the progress Honey has made towards being a well behaved dog,
Grammy to Sky and Sirius, who came to live with me, stole my heart, and changed my life forever as I took over their care and learned how to be a dog owner.
Re: Honey's beach trip
thanks for sharing the pics...honey is such a cutie.