Kathy Sdao Seminar: Introduction/Outside the Seminar

Author’s Note: This post was written shortly after I attended the seminar. I knew I could wait until later to write about the content of the seminar because I take excellent notes, but because this post is about how Maisy did while we were there, I wrote it right away because I wanted to be sure I remembered all the details. Maisy has blossomed over the last year, so some of the things that I was amazed by back then are things I take for granted now! Still… this was an important step in our journey, so while it’s much belated, I want to preserve it.

In October, I saw Kathy Sdao for the third time (assuming you count the sessions at Clicker Expo as one). This meant that much of what she presented was review for me, so I probably won’t post as comprehensively as a result. But even if I’d heard it before, I had a great time anyway. She is such an amazing, energetic, intelligent, dynamic speaker that I think I could listen to her read from the phone book and still enjoy it.

This time was even more exciting because Maisy and I had a working spot. I was very excited for Maisy to meet Kathy (although Maisy seemed to prefer Dorothy Turley, Kathy’s assistant. Seriously, Dorothy took this picture of Kathy, Maisy, and I. It didn’t turn out well because Maisy was so squirmy, trying to get to Dorothy).

Because the seminar was held in Urbandale, Iowa, a five hour drive away, today I'm going to tell you about our traveling experiences, as well as how Maisy handled the whole thing in general. While this isn't technically about the seminar, I'm so proud of her that I just have to share.

We left just before noon on Friday afternoon because I have an Iowan friend whose house was on the way that I wanted to visit. Maisy and I spent about two hours with my friend and her 11-year-old daughter who decided Maisy was the best thing ever. Which means that Maisy spent two hours repeating the same three or four behaviors over and over and over and over again... for like five Cheerios total.

I watched Maisy pretty closely, and she was surprisingly happy throughout the visit. I did enforce a few breaks even though Maisy didn't really seem to need them. It just seemed prudent. Maisy was relaxed and responsive the entire time, which is a far cry from the dog who threatened to bite kids a few years ago. Like I said: proud.

We drove down to our hotel, checked in, and then found a park to walk in. We were surprised by an off-leash dog, and Maisy just wiggled at it, excited to say hello. Seriously? Who is this dog? Note: Ha. This behavior has become very typical of Maisy. It doesn’t surprise me at all anymore.

At the hotel that first night, Maisy barked once at the door. I decided to give her some clonidine, but I don't think she really needed it. Honestly, she did a lovely job handling all the strange noises (including another dog down the hall that barked all night long), and slept through the night soundly.

The seminar was a bit more difficult. I'd guess that there were around fifteen working teams, and probably thirty or forty people there in all. We were supposed to crate at our training stations, but I set Maisy's crate up next to me in the seating area so I could keep an eye on her. There were a few dogs who might have benefited from something similar; one barked quite frequently throughout the day- when people walked past, or there was a loud noise- in turn setting off nearby dogs.

Despite all the noise, Maisy settled in and ate her trachea treat (she won't eat chewies if she's too stressed), and then stretched out on her side and fell asleep. That's right: she slept in her crate at a dog event. I don't think that had ever happened before. Yeah, I was proud.

Still, it did take its toll on her, and she did a small bark and hop (not really a lunge, but not nothing, either) at a Golden at lunch, and later in the afternoon, growled and lunged at an adorable prick-eared dog. Although I found this disappointing, I was able to quickly redirect her back to the task at hand.

That night at the hotel was a bit more difficult; she probably barked a total of three or four times. Most were in the evening, but one was in the middle of the night. Still, she did sleep quite well. Interestingly, during the most difficult part of the evening, she chose to sleep in the bathroom away from me, returning after she had rested up to spend the rest of the night closely pressed up to me. Note: I’ve noticed this trend over and over again since. When Maisy has had a hard day, she needs space to decompress. It’s been a great way for me to gauge if I’ve pushed her too hard.

Sunday at the seminar was surprisingly good. She was quite clear that she needed to be crated in the car instead of the building (she couldn't chew or rest inside but could in the car). Still, she was eager and happy to come in to work, and didn't have any reactivity during the day. It probably helped that Sunday's training task was easier for us both, meaning that my attitude was more upbeat. Maisy feeds off emotional energy from me like crazy. Note: Okay, yes, I was frustrated during the Saturday training task, but I think there was more to it. My close friends will know what I mean when I say that this is about the same time that the fall started to get hard for me. For everyone else, suffice it to say that getting divorced is emotionally hard. Maisy reacted to that.

We drove home that night, arriving home around 10pm. Although I worried that she'd have difficulty settling in, she really didn't. She barked once, and then slept solidly until 10am the next morning, when I forced her to go out for a walk (which was really more of a stagger). I didn't see any residual stress, which is so different from the days where she needed five days to recover. Of course, I kept things low-key for several days anyway.

So she wasn't perfect, but I was so proud of how well she did. It was a really difficult situation for her to adjust to, and she did a really lovely job. Maisy will never be a “normal” dog, but she fakes it pretty well. Note: Ha. I pretty much think of her as normal now. 

APDT/WCRL Rally Trial Report!

Last Saturday, Maisy and I went to an APDT/WCRL trial hosted by our breed club, the Minnesota Mixed Breed Club. It was a smashing success in a lot of ways!!

Maisy's Reactivity

It feels weird to write that heading; I don't really think of Maisy as reactive anymore. Still, I know that the neural pathways for reactivity will always be in her brain. They may become dusty or overgrown, but in times of stress, she may head down that path. Because of that, I continue to be cautious about what I expose her to.

This trial was no exception. I pre-entered Trial 1, Levels 1 and 2, figuring I could enter Trials 2 and 3 if she was doing well. I wasn't sure how she'd do because previous to this, the longest she could stay at a trial before getting stressed was about two hours.

Well, by the time Trial 1 was over, we'd blown past the two hour mark. We were closer to four, actually, and Maisy was fine. Well, she'd barked a few times while she was in her crate and I was away (walking the course, chatting, whatever), but I wasn't too worried about that. I decided to enter her in a few more runs. Because Trials 2 and 3 were being run simultaneously, I went ahead and day-of-show entered her in Levels 1 and 2 in both.

Maisy did great up until the six hour mark, when she got a bit edgy. Nothing big, just a small bark and lunge toward a white shepherd. (Of course she did that right after I bragged to the judge about how she used to be reactive!) Although I was bummed by that, she did come right back to me. I moved her to the car crate so she could get some downtime, and she was able to come back in to work with no problem.

All in all, she spent 9.5 hours at the trial! Other than being very tired by the end, she did very, very well. Crating in the car was clearly the right choice because as I was trying to pack up our stuff, she kept going in the crate in the building to eat her chewy... something she won't do if she's stressed. I was really proud of her!

Ring Nerves

Another huge success came with my ring nerves. They've always been bad. Seriously bad. Like can't-eat-and-need-stomach-meds bad. Of course, Maisy would realize that, and between the two of us, we'd end up in an out of control anxiety spiral.

I did get nervous a few times while at the trial, but it was nowhere near as bad as it has been in the past. I've started a meditation practice over recent months, so every time I felt the nerves fluttering up, I would close my eyes and take a few deep breaths the way I do during my formal sitting times. Then I would gaze into Maisy's face, continue breathing, and tell myself that I was calm, I was relaxed, I was at ease, I was having fun.

And I was! Meditation is amazing.

The Results

Okay, okay. Yes, I need to tell you how we did. Maisy and I did a total of six runs:

Trial 1, Level 1: 206, 4^th place, A nice run. Nothing to really say about it.

Trial 1, Level 2: 206, 3^rd place, Another nice run, and probably my favorite. When we got to the moving down sign (not a true moving down, the dog just needs to down instead of sit when you halt), Maisy did a play bow instead of a down. I laughed hysterically because it was so ridiculously funny.

Trial 2, Level 1: NQ, I missed a sign. No, I missed the last sign. Seriously didn't even see it. The judge (Charlene Swainamer, who was awesome and I loved her) was so sad. It would have been a 206 if it hadn't been for that missed sign. I shrugged, told her it happened, and that we still had fun. I meant it, too.

Trial 2, Level 2: NQ, Again, my fault. We got to a sign where you halt and leave the dog and I got confused over what to do, handled Maisy poorly, and she broke the stay. I looked back to the judge, who confirmed it was an NQ, and took advantage of this fact to reinforce the really nice moments of heeling with cookies. Afterward, the judge was practically crying. She was so sweet; she really liked Maisy and was so bummed out for us. I told her was just a dog show and that it really didn't matter. She agreed, but was still sad. I told her that honestly, I didn't care. And you know, I've said that before, but inside I was still totally disappointed and upset. Saturday I wasn't. So we NQ'd. Big deal.

Trial 3, Level 1: 205, 3^rd place, A nice run. Nothing to report... well, except we clearly need to proof against the presences of Auntie Sara. Maisy got distracted when she saw her ringside. It was kind of cute, actually.

Trial 3, Level 2: 197, 4^th place, We lost ten points on the bonus because Maisy did not do the moving down (a true one this time), even though she'd done it flawlessly in Trial 2. I wasn't upset, though. She was just so very tired.

In the end, we picked up two QQs towards our ARCH (out of five needed), and 23 Level 2 points (you need a total of 100, 30 from Level 1, 30 from Level 2, and the remaining from either level. We have plenty of Level 1 points).

The Aftermath

I gave Maisy a preemptive clonidine when we got home so she would be able to sleep. I think that was a good choice, because she didn't sleep in bed with me that night. (A sure sign, if a bit unusual, of stress.) On Sunday, she was tired, tired, tired. My friend Laura came over with her dogs Piper and Allister to go for a walk. Maisy hid. When we left, I asked her if she wanted to go and instead of bouncing around, she lowered her head and avoided contact. Poor baby.

I felt bad for her, but it had been a big week for her; a party the weekend before with 5 or 6 dogs in the house, a modeling job on Wednesday, and then the trial. In July, we'll try another full day, and if it's still hard for her, we'll cut back on the length of time we spend at trials in the future. I don't think we'll need to, though. She's amazing!

A-Hiking We Will Go!

My friend Laura and I are going on an epic hiking trip in May. Apparently, we’re all going to die. As if that weren’t bad enough, I’ve been informed that you need Very Special Supplies when you go to Hell (what, you thought I was going to Heaven? Have we met?), and so off we went to the Hiking-Boot-and-Assorted-Other-Supplies-Half-of-Which-I-Had-No-Idea-Even-Existed Store.

The store we went to, Midwest Mountaineering (which is awesome and employs some very cute staff, just sayin’), is dog-friendly, and since we went right after a dog training class in which Maisy was the neutral dog (a brag in and of itself!), she went shopping with us. We spent around two hours in the store- hey, it takes a long time to find the right boots (and ogle the aforementioned cute employees)!

Maisy was a rock star, not that it surprised me in the least. She barked precisely once, when she saw someone hoisting a huge pack on their back, but other than that, she had a great time. She was a huge flirt, circle-wagging at everyone that walked past. Seriously, she was ridiculous. She was even ambused by a woman who found her adorable; Maisy wasn’t thrilled by this, but she didn’t look put-out, either.

In short? She acted like a normal dog. That is SO weird to me, even if it has become, well, normal. It’s pretty awesome to have a dog that you can take places without worrying about her the whole time, or being embarrassed by her. This has been a long, sometimes heartbreaking, sometimes exhilarating journey, and every moment has been worth it.

Half-Time Break!



If you live in Minnesota, Maisy urges you to Vote No!



So we're about half-way through the Shedd seminar series- whew! I feel like I've been writing about it forever. (And once I'm done with them, I have to write about the Kathy Sdao seminar I went to!) Anyway, since the Shedd entries seem to have taken over the blog, I figured it would be nice to take a little half-time break to update you on all things Maisy.

As you may remember, Maisy and I moved about three months ago. She has settled in beautifully, and is back to her baseline level of functioning- maybe even better! She has simply blossomed, and I'm often amazed at how well she's doing. If I didn't know better, I'd think she was a "normal" dog!

Maisy and I have been filling our days with lots of walks around the neighborhood and exploring the hiking areas down by the river. We have both been enjoying this a great deal, and it's really allowed me to see just how well she's doing. On several occasions, we've been rushed by friendly-but-rude off-leash dogs. Where this used to be the stuff of nightmares, lately Maisy has taken to play bowing at them! I just about fell over the first time.

Maisy has also been more social, interested in meeting people we encounter. Surprisingly, she's even been interested in greeting children. She hasn't always liked kids, and has even snapped at a few in the past, so I've been very, very cautious. Still, Maisy has been so clear in her desire to see them that I've allowed a few interactions with some of the more polite children. I've been blown away by Maisy's relaxed and friendly greetings.



Are you a friend?



She's also shown a lot of curiosity about unusual things in the environment. Unexpected items have always unnerved her in the past, but lately, she's been bravely investigating novel objects. Halloween offered many such opportunities, and while she's still not quite sure what to think of oversized inflatable spiders and life-sized scarecrows, she's willing to have an open mind!

So, all in all, Maisy is doing wonderful, and I'm just absolutely thrilled with her recent behavior. I hope you're all doing well, too!

Pet-a-Palooza

Yesterday, Maisy and I headed over to Pet-a-Palooza, an outdoor pet expo held on the state fair grounds. I agonized over whether or not I should take her; although she is much less anxious and reactive than she used to be, I am still quite careful about where I take her. The way I see it, while reactive dogs can recover, given the right (wrong?) mix of stress or triggers, they will fall back on their old coping techniques. In the end, I decided to take her. It was free, so even if we walked in and then walked right out again, I lost nothing more than the 10 minutes or so it took me to drive over there.

As it turned out, it was just fine. It was a relatively small event in a relatively large area, which meant that we weren't crowded at all. Still, Maisy was a bit uncertain when we first arrived. There were still quite a few people and other dogs (and the St. Paul Police Dogs were doing a demo, so there were a lot of German Shepherds, which have been a long-standing trigger for Maisy). She didn't have her normal bright, confident expression, and she was definitely not as social as she usually is.

Then we ran into my friend Laura, who was there with her dogs Lance and Vito. Maisy was very excited to see all three of them, and became wiggly and happy. We stood around and talked for probably 20 minutes or so, during which time Maisy alternately begged for treats and laid down with Lance. It was very cute.

All in all, Maisy did very well. She did bark at a dog once (a greyhound, which thoroughly baffled me, as she has a greyhound friend), but I simply redirected her and she was fine. I commented on it to Laura, and she said that Maisy was basically being a normal dog. This will surprise no one that knows me in person, but I probably worry a bit too much about Maisy's behavior.

I'm glad I took her; she seemed to enjoy getting out (well, once we ran into friends), and I was pleased with her behavior. The best part was that the outing didn't seem to have any lasting impact on her. Sometimes she's a bit more wound up after this kind of outing, but there didn't seem to be any residual stress this time around. I am very, very happy with how she did.

Lunch on the Patio

I hope you'll forgive me for posting so many brags lately. It's just that Maisy has become a far more normal dog than I ever expected, and I don't want to take it for granted. A few weeks ago, we did something I never thought would be possible: we ate lunch on a restaurant patio.

Maisy was a little super star. I tethered her to my chair, put a blanket down for her, and she just... laid there. Okay, and she begged a little for food, but I mean... this is Maisy we're talking about, the world's most spoiled dog. Heck, restaurants are for eating, right?

But she also chilled, just hanging out like she'd done this every day of her life. The restaurant patio was actually just on the sidewalk, with no barrier between the tables and the world at large. She watched people walk by, bicyclists speed past, and cars and trucks on the road. She saw other people eating. She flirted with our server. And she was a very good girl.

I have invested a lot in this silly little dog; lots of time and money, plenty of tears and frustration, and... it's all paying off. I am so proud of us both.

Happy Birthday, Buzz!

My friend Megan's dog Buzz turned 14 this weekend, so we did what normal people do: had a birthday party for him! The party was on Megan's farm, 80 acres of (legal) off-leash goodness. The dogs had a great time tromping around:



Why yes, that is my "reactive" dog hanging out in a big group of dogs. Most of the dogs are ones she'd met before: Buzz the English Springer Spaniel (of course!), his sister Bailey, Lance the Corgi, Vito the Toller, and Trout the North American Yodelhound puppy (also known as Mischief). Dogs she hadn't met before included Piper the boxer and Allister the adorable corgi-mix-thing. I wanted to steal him. Not in the video were Zuma, the fastest dog I've ever met, and Coda, a flat-coat retriever. Maisy had met both of them before, although it had been a long time since she'd seen Coda.

After the huge group hike and playtime in the field, we went back to the house and grilled hot dogs and drank adult beverages and attempted to have a bonfire in the rain. (As it turns out, you can roast marshmallows over a gas stove just as well.) Maisy wandered around, attempting to sucker people out of food. I think she was successful.

Later, the most confusing thing ever happened:

Yup, she fell asleep. She was exhausted after all that fun, I guess, because she fell asleep despite the fact that there were other dogs around and we were in a relatively new environment (she'd been to Megan's once before, but it was over a year ago).

I'm pretty proud of my Maisy. She has come so far in the last few years.

America's Next Top Doggy Model

About a month ago, Maisy auditioned for a gig modeling Halloween costumes for Target. The audition was held by Animal Connection, a local animal acting company owned by Barbara O'Brien. Sadly, Maisy didn't get the job, but we had a wonderful experience and we got some great photos out of the deal.

Original here.

First, I cannot say enough good things about Barbara, both as a person and as a photographer. Maisy is a funny little dog; she loves people, but she generally shies away when they try to touch her- even people she knows well. But she loved Barbara, and flirted shamelessly with her. Maisy must be a good judge of character, because I found Barbara to be warm, welcoming, friendly, patient, and kind- all great attributes for a photographer specializing in animals!

Original here.

The audition itself was very interesting. It was held at a local training center. There was a small waiting area in the foyer and then a larger area with a full-on photography studio set up. I don't know all the technical terms, but in addition to the flooring and backdrop you can see in the pictures, there were some large, bright lights, two of those huge umbrella things, a full computer set up, and then the large, intimidating camera. For a dog who's used to smart phones and point and shoots, it must have been overwhelming.

Original here.

Maisy handled it like a pro. There were a few moments of uncertainty, but no fear or reactivity. She sat where I told her, stayed when I asked, and was very, very cute. Well, I guess that last one goes without saying! Seriously, though, it was a really fun experience, one that even a year ago I didn't believe was possible. Thank you so much, Barbara, for the great experience!

You can see all of the auditions photos at this link. Maisy is about halfway down; there are about a dozen more that I didn't post here. You should also look at the other dogs that auditioned; there are some seriously cute dogs in that gallery!

I think I have a normal dog...

Look close, she's in there!

I teach a training class on Sunday nights, and sometimes I bring Maisy with me. Today, I wanted to celebrate two huge successes that have come of that practice.

A couple weeks ago, I brought Maisy and put her in a crate in a corner of the training room. Historically, Maisy has had trouble being crated at busy/stressful events. I've had to sit next to her and drop treats in every few minutes in order to keep her quiet. This kind of babysitting was doable, but also a little frustrating; it's hard to walk a course or go to the bathroom at a trial if your dog can't be alone for even a few minutes.

When I'm teaching, that's obviously not going to work. I have to, you know, teach. So I put Maisy in her crate with a trachea chew and left. I did come back when I could to drop a treat in, but it was probably only 3 or 4 times over the course of a 90 minute class.

And she was awesome. She did growl once (quietly) when one of the student dogs had a reactive outburst, but I was still pretty happy with how well she did. She came out of her crate happy and eager to socialize with my co-teacher, and was completely mellow at home- no residual stress followed.

Last Sunday I brought Maisy with me again, but since I was running a bit late, I didn't have time to bring her in the building. Instead, I left her in the car crate with the windows down. Maisy is used to hanging out in her car crate. Not only does she have to ride in it any time we go somewhere, but I also have made a habit of having her hang out in it when the weather permits. I was confident that she'd be comfortable.

What I wasn't expecting was how comfortable she'd be. I went out to collect her after class was over, expecting that she'd be awake and maybe even a little stressed. After all, the students (and their dogs) had all just been in the parking lot to load up and go home for the night. Instead, Maisy was asleep. More than that, she was sound asleep.

I expected that when I walked up to the car, she'd wake up, but she didn't. I said her name softly (remember, the window was down). Nothing. I said her name again, louder. Still nothing. I started to panic a little bit, because sleep can look a lot like dead when you're a world-class worrier like me. Maisy did not lift her head until I was opening her crate door. Even then, she gave me a look like, "Why are you interrupting my nap?"

Silly girl. Amazing girl! Normal girl? I don't know, but let me tell you: I am so proud of my girl. I can't believe how far she's come.

A Day at the Vet's

Last week, Maisy's feline brothers both had appointments scheduled with the vet for wellness exams. For a variety of reasons completely unimportant to today's story, those appointments happened during the middle of a work day. When I arrived home to pick up the kitties, Maisy danced around my feet, clearly excited by the prospect of an unexpected outing. I told her sorry, it wasn't her turn, and she looked so crushed that I simply couldn't leave her behind. I figured I could run her in the office, grab a weight, and then put her back in the car.

When we got there, the receptionist told me it was fine, Maisy was welcome to hang out in the exam room while the boys had their appointment. I took her up on this offer, figuring that if Maisy was a pain, I could run her out to the car.

But she wasn't. In fact, she was amazing. Not only did she settle down and lie there calmly while we were waiting for the vet to come in (as evidenced by this incredibly poor photo), but she also was calm and quiet during both exams.

Okay, yes, she got seriously excited when the vet first came in the room, but I just kept her on a short leash and ignored her. So did the vet, for that matter- her patients were the cats, after all. Maisy quickly realized that this was actually a rather boring trip, and laid down quietly at my feet.

I know this probably doesn't sound like much, but this is Maisy we're talking about. Although our the vets at this practice are incredibly gentle and good with fearful animals, they still do things that are uncomfortable. I'm sure Maisy remembered that. There was also barking going on outside our exam room, and I'm sure she could smell unsettling odors.

On top of that, Maisy's never been a dog to hold still. Or at least, she wasn't. Anxious dogs often seem restless; they pace or at least move around a lot. Maisy was no exception, and even at home, she used to have trouble settling down.

So the fact that she was able to just chill out in a stressful environment, with lots of chaos just on the other side of a door? Amazing. She never once barked or growled or even seemed tense about what was going on. She just... waited. Patiently. For an hour.

I think my favorite part came at the end of the visit, though. Each cat was in his own carrier, and I had one in each hand. I also had Maisy's leash in one. The receptionist asked if we needed help to the car, but I said we were fine. And we were- I walked for half a block like that, Maisy on a perfectly loose leash the entire time.

What a good girl.

CDSP Trial Results

Well, it finally came! After 16 months off from trialing, Maisy and I have returned to the world of competition! What's more, instead of doing rally, like we've done in the past, this was our very first time doing obedience. I chose CDSP for our venue because I knew it would be a small trial, relatively low-pressure, and because I could take treats in the ring in case things went horribly wrong.

They didn't.

In fact, they went very, very good. See for yourself:



The trial was a success in many way. First, as you can see above, her performance was very good. Although there were a few missteps here and there, she did well enough to score a very respectable 192 in the ring! This score, incidentally, was good enough to tie us for first place! As a result, we had to do a run-off:



Huge thanks to my friend Laura for getting video of the run-off. I did not expect to need to go in the ring a second time, so Maisy was in the car when we were called. In the midst of running to get her, I didn't even think about getting video. Laura did, though, and even uploaded it for me!

Anyway, we lost the run-off, but I can't say I'm too upset about that. I mean- look at her! She did really well for having absolutely no warm-up. I stuffed two cookies in her and went. Still- 2nd place at her very first obedience trial? NICE.

On top of that, she also ended up being the high-scoring mixed breed of the day as well as the high-scoring club member (I belong to the club that hosted the trial- the Minnesota Mixed Breed Club.)

The trial was also a success in terms of her attitude. We were connected throughout the majority of the run, and she just seemed happy to be out there with me. She was a bit stressed, too, to the point that I actually scratched her from the second run, but I did that more to prevent issues than because we were having them.

And I think the trial was successful for that reason, too. It is easy to push a dog too hard, especially on the heels of success. But when you're working with a reactive dog, it's important to avoid putting your dog in a situation she cannot handle. We were toeing that line today, and I am proud of myself for being able to recognize and act on that.

Anyway, it was an amazing day. I am so incredibly happy with how Maisy did. What an awesome little dog.

BAT Dog

Maisy and I did BAT for the first time on Friday night. BAT, short for Behavioral Adjustment Training, is a method of training reactive dogs by teaching them that they can control the environment through peaceful means. Basically, it rewards the dog for performing a calming signal (or appeasement gesture) such as turning his head away by giving him what he wants most: distance.

BAT is usually done with a subject dog- that is, the reactive dog who is being trained- and some sort of decoy. The decoy is one of the reactive dog's triggers, and it needs to be something that can be controlled. If the decoy is another dog, it needs to be calm and inoffensive. 

Maisy was the decoy dog on Friday night.

It all started on Facebook- an internet acquaintance asked if anyone wanted to do some dog training. I "liked" her status, and somehow I found myself meeting her at a park the next day to help her do some BAT with two of her dogs. I wasn't sure how Maisy would do, but I shouldn't have worried. My new friend did a great job keep her own dogs under threshold, so Maisy barely even noticed they were there!

A year ago, I would never have even considered that Maisy could be a calm, quiet, inoffensive decoy dog, but now, she's able to chill in a public park, and just be her adorable self. Needless to say, I am so proud of her!

Maisy and the Scamp

Maisy has never been what you'd call a “dog park dog.” Back when we still went to the dog park, she was more interested in getting people to throw her ball than in socializing with other dogs, and she definitely didn't play with them. Even with dogs she knows well, it's rare for her to want to play with them.

So, imagine my surprise when she not only solicited play, but she also engaged in play with a dog she'd only met a few hours prior (the action starts around fifty seconds in):



Her playmate is Scamp, a friend's foster dog who was being “cat tested” at my house. Scamp is a really cool dog- he's funny, likes to play, and quite smart. He's also snack-pack sized and has great structure (or so I'm told- I'm rubbish at figuring that out), so he'd make a great height dog in flyball. I really, really liked him, but unfortunately, I didn't feel a “spark” with him (plus I honestly can't afford another pet right now anyway). But if you're in Minnesota and are in the market, you should totally check him out here. His Petfinder is here, and he's with the Southern Star Min Pin Rescue.

Maisy's New Ability to Recover from Stress

Recently, I found myself without a dog sitter. We have always left Maisy with a trusted family member (and Maisy adores them, so we know they're doing it right), but unfortunately, we had plans the same weekend they did! None of my friends can take Maisy for a variety of reasons (mostly because they all have crazy dogs, too), so we were stuck.

 Maisy loves Uncle Jim. Too bad he couldn't take her this time.

Then someone told me about A Dog Spot, a boarding facility about two hours away, run by some mutual friends of ours. They started A Dog Spot because they hated leaving their own "crazy" dogs with people, and I went to Clicker Expo with one of them, so I figured it would be okay.

Okay? It was amazing. They talked to me on the phone every day, telling me what Maisy was up to, and how much they loved her (well, how could they not?). When they noticed that Maisy winced every time the metal door shut, they padded it for her. They spent tons of one-on-one time with her. I was very pleased.

Maisy spent four days there, so I expected her to come home and be a bit stressed out. I took behavior logs since I'm still interested on how quickly she bounces back from stress, after all. And here's the absolutely awesome part: I wrote nothing down. Nothing for an entire week!

I am so, so excited. One of my huge goals for when I chose to put Maisy on medication was for her to be able to recover from stress quicker, and I'd say we've met that goal now. I also cannot say how pleased I was with the staff at A Dog Spot. Seriously, if you live in northern Iowa, southern Minnesota, or southwest Wisconsin- check them out.

Denise Fenzi Seminar: Working Spot

Maisy and I had a working spot on the final day of the seminar. The night before, a bunch of us went out for supper with Denise, during which she let it slip that she already had an idea of what she was going to see with Maisy and I the next day. This piqued my curiousity, so I begged her to tell me, and she said, “At some point, you will ask your dog to do something, and she'll do it wrong. But you'll think the way she did it was cute and funny, so you'll laugh and maybe even give a treat anyway.”

Um... Yeah, I think I might be guilty of the occasional Cuteness Cookie. The implication was that I probably make things too easy for Maisy. I don't raise my criteria fast enough, and I settle for “good enough” instead of holding out for truly good performances. I was surprised that she nailed me so completely, without having even seen Maisy yet. And I was a little nervous. What would she find when she saw us together?

I shouldn't have been worried. Maisy and I had two sessions with Denise. The first was devoted to heeling, and the second to a formal retrieve (with just a bit of heeling thrown in), and both were awesome. Denise is a brilliant trainer, it's true, and it was really helpful to get a chance to put what I'd learned into practice, with the benefit of immediate feedback and suggestions tailored specifically to us. But she was also kind and funny, and she never made me feel dumb. At the same time, she pushed me. It was hard work, but wow! I learned so much.

Heeling
Before we started, I shared that Maisy is a recovering reactive dog, and that I sometimes struggle to remember who Maisy is now instead of who she was before. I said that my primary goal is to support her during training and at trials, and that my focus is on us having a good time instead of a good score. The great irony is that I completely failed at this. When Denise had me show her Maisy's heeling, I immediately fell back into my old habits of being silent. Maisy lagged and got droopy, and Denise stopped us. Despite my good intentions, Densie told me that my silence was not supportive, and in fact, was confusing and stressful for my dog.

Denise coached me through using my voice effectively with Maisy. When I spoke to her with more enthusiasm, she drove into heel position, at which time I could reward her. I initially used cookies, but Denise said that the way I was handing out the treats (slowly and calmly, likely a holdover from all of our reactivity work) was only contributing to Maisy's overall sobriety. What I needed to do was be exciting and create more energy, and make the rewards more about our interaction.

I worked on being over the top with my rewards. Instead of simply handing Maisy a treat and continuing on, Denise had me mark the behavior, and then crouch on the floor in front of Maisy as I fed her the treat and told her what a good girl she is. Denise had us do this for two reasons. First, getting down on Maisy's level is more interactive, and second, it allows Maisy to chew and swallow the food. If you just hand a dog a treat, they typically disengage momentarily to eat it, and Denise does not want dogs to learn to disconnect with you for any reason, and especially not as part of the reward sequence!

After I got the hang of using my voice to encourage Maisy, I asked Denise to help coach us through using the ball as a reward. In the past, I've really struggled with this, because while she loves it and it's obviously higher value for her, it also seems like her brain melts out of her head and she has trouble doing what I ask. I end up frustrated and Maisy learns nothing.

The moment I got the ball out, Maisy went from mild lagging to forging! Although this is a better problem to have (apparently it is easier to scale back too much enthusiasm than it is to build it up in the first place), I still wasn't sure what to do. Thankfully, Denise was there to help us. She advised that every time Maisy got ahead of me, I should turn around and walk in the other direction. I did this a lot, and then Maisy fell into position and bam! I threw the ball! We discussed the proper way to use the ball- always use the left hand to prevent too much shoulder rotation, toss the ball behind you if the dog is forging, ahead if she's lagging. Sometimes even toss it to the side so the dog doesn't know what to expect.

What I found really interesting was that despite the fact that I've done tons of “Choose to Heel” work with Maisy, Denise doesn't really think that Maisy is a Choose to Heel dog. She said that Maisy is one of those dogs who, when she gets more than about a foot out of position, just can't seem to fix it on her own. The dog then starts to worry, which typically pushes her further out of position, creating a terrible cycle. Denise's advice was that I not try to wait it out, and instead, simply turn to face her, show her a cookie (but not give it), and then try again, using my voice to encourage her.

Retrieve
During our second session, we worked on Maisy's retrieve. Again, I struggled to use my voice with Maisy. At one point, Denise said, “Are you pleased with your dog?” When I nodded, she asked, “Well then could you make it more obvious?!”

Denise shows me how it's down in this video still. 

(Thanks to Robin Sallie for taking the video!)

Denise had me praise Maisy like crazy when she picked up the dumbbell in order to encourage her to bring it back. Unfortunately, every time I praised her, she would drop it. My theory is that Maisy thinks praise is a verbal marker (and I certainly have quite a few of those, including the words “yes!” “here” and “good”). Denise said we needed to work through that, because Maisy was pretty slow and methodical about bringing back the dumbbell and praise will help create more enthusiasm.

Maisy found this whole process rather confusing, which was beneficial in a lot of ways because it meant Denise could help me figure out how to help Maisy through it. She coached me to wiggle my fingers to get Maisy to bring the dumbbell to my hand. If Maisy didn't pick it up at all, she had me snatch it away and gleefully say that it's mine. She recommended that I make the dumbbell into a toy, to play hiding games with it, and... she recommended that I teach Maisy to retrieve her ball to my hand.

Denise, I know you're reading this, so maybe you should skip this paragraph. Okay? Are you gone? Great, because I sorta haven't really followed this advice. Maisy has this absolutely adorable behavior where she drops the ball about five feet from me, and then pushes it towards me with her nose. It's so cute and I do not want to extinguish this behavior. I know that I could create cues, but let's be honest- I suck at cuing. And, while I understand Denise's point that muscle memory may kick in and Maisy may drop her dumbbell and push it to me in the ring... well, I guess that's something I'm willing to risk.

She was right about me, you know. I do reward cute-but-incorrect behaviors.

We also tried a combination heeling and retrieving exercise that was pretty neat. I had Maisy walking next to me, and then I'd hold out the dumbbell at Maisy height while encouraging her to grab it. When she did, I'd start walking backwards, encouraging her to come towards me and place the dumbbell in my hand. This helped Maisy begin to experience the concept of bringing the dumbbell to front.

Personal Qs
Finally, I would be remiss if I didn't mention our personal Qs for the day. I had been very worried about how Maisy would handle the day. It was over eight hours, with lots of crate time, and plenty of strange dogs. That's a long time for any dog, I think, but especially for Maisy. Still, she did great. She did lunge (silently) at a dog once, and another time she gave a dalmatian the hairy eyeball, but she was responsive and wonderful while out of her crate. In fact, Denise gave us the biggest compliment when she said that she expected to see Maisy kind of fall apart and quit working. Instead, Maisy hung in there with me, and remained engaged despite all the stress.

Maisy did wonderful in her crate, too. She did bark a handful of times, but for the most part, she laid quietly. She cleaned out a Kong and ate a beef trachea- things she's never done in her crate in public before! She also laid flat on her side in there, and while I don't think she actually fell asleep, she did seem fairly relaxed. I was very happy with that!

Even more amazing, when I went to take behavior logs for the week after the seminar, I found that I didn't have anything to right down. That's right- despite the stress of the day, it had no long-lasting impact. I think this was the part I'm most excited about. For Maisy to be able to bounce back from stress like that, for her to not experience any long-lasting effects... well, I'm just thrilled.


All in all, I'm really glad I did a working spot. It was lovely to get some excellent coaching, and it was thrilling to see how well Maisy did in that environment. I definitely recommend Denise Fenzi's seminars for anyone interested in obedience. I know the auditors learned a lot, but I honestly think the working spot made the difference for me. It was a great weekend, full of fun, and I really feel like it will make a lasting difference in training.

This is a stressed dog?

Last weekend, my husband and I went to a Sarah Kalnjas seminar, hosted by Paws Abilities Dog Training. The seminar was great, but that's not what I want to talk about today (don't worry- I'll tell you all about it if/when I ever finish my posts on Clicker Expo!). Instead, I want to tell you how awesome my dog is.

The seminar was held in Rochester, MN, which is about a ninety minute drive each way from where I live. Because that would be a lot of driving, and because we wanted to hang out with all our cool Rochester dog friends, my husband and I decided to stay in a hotel for the weekend. Since it was Easter weekend, though, we couldn't leave Maisy with her usual puppy-sitters, which meant that we had to bring her with.

Hotels can be stressful places for dogs: it's an unfamiliar environment and there are lots of strange noises. Maisy has stayed in hotels before, and generally finds them difficult to cope with. Still, I was hopeful that given her medication, and her recent good experiences with stressful environments, it would go better than it has in the past.

It did, though it didn't go as well as I had hoped. The first night, she barked, growled or alerted to every single little noise. This was complicated by the fact that this hotel had fairly poor sound-proofing, and no fan in the bathroom (which I always use for white noise). Still, she did settle in and sleep through the night okay. I got her out of the room at lunch, and spent an hour throwing a ball for her in a nearby park after the seminar finished for the day, but she was moving just a bit quicker than usual, and taking treats a little harder- both signs of stress.

The second night actually went better, which surprised me. Usually when under stress, she does worse as time goes on if the source of her stress is not abated. But that night, she only barked once, and that was when someone rattled on our door at 11pm- a perfectly reasonable reaction, and one I rather liked. It seemed as though she was getting used to the environment.

Despite this, she had a harder time navigating the hotel hallways on Sunday morning, and did lunge at a couple people. I found this disheartening. I know that she's a recovering reactive dog, and as such, is prone to relapsing. Beyond that, even "normal" dogs have stressful moments, but still... It was hard to see her so stressed.

All of which is to provide some context for this video:




Does this look like a stressed dog to you?

Seriously, this video was taken on Sunday during the lunch break- so after she's spent over 36 hours in a pretty stressful environment. Although the room isn't overly crowded, there are quite a few people in there, and most of them are strangers (she did meet a few of them the day before). Although she does shy away from someone part way through the video, it's a pretty minor reaction (and the only time I saw her do it all weekend).

The best part is that she recovered quite well from all the stress. We returned home that night, and she slipped right back into our daily routine. She did have two outbursts in reactive dog class on Tuesday- so I know the stress was still affecting her- but she was able to cope quite well at home. This is a huge difference from last fall, when she had a very hard time recovering from Thanksgiving weekend with my parents. 

Again, I'm just so thrilled with how Maisy is doing. I know the medication has helped her a lot, and it's fun to see her true personality shine through as a result. It's fun to see her being such a social butterfly, to see her being so much more confident and willing to interact with people. And the coolest part is this is how she acts when stressed. I actually had people look at me disbelievingly when I told them this was my reactive dog. Sarah Kalnajs herself said she wouldn't have known Maisy's a "problem dog" unless I'd told her.

But that's probably because she's not. For all that she has reactive tendencies, she's really becoming pretty darn normal.

Who Are You, and What Have You Done with My Dog?

Maisy has improved so much that sometimes I barely recognize her. Last Sunday was one of those times.

Over the weekend, the Minnesota Mixed Breed Club held their semi-annual APDT rally trial. No, I didn't enter Maisy, but I did take the opportunity to expose Maisy to a trial environment. This isn't anything new; I have been working on gradually exposing her to busier environments, with the key word being gradual. Maisy's veterinary behaviorist has cautioned that I need to take things slowly so that I don't accidentally cause her to have a setback. I agreed, and I had every intention of taking Maisy to the trial, hanging around for a half-hour or so, and then going home.

Perhaps you've guessed that's not exactly what happened. In the end, we spent over three hours at the trial site, and she was content to be there. In fact, there were several times where I took her outside in order to give her a break, and instead of sniffing around, she strained and pulled in the direction of the building, clearly eager to go back inside.

She was very flirty. She said hi to every person she could get near with full on grins and helicopter tails. She even tried to say hi to a couple dogs, to the point where she rudely got in another dog's face (total handler fail on my part; I didn't see the dog under the table). When that dog (appropriately) snarked at her, Maisy jumped back, shook herself off, and was like, "Oh. Terribly sorry," and carried on with the business of flirting with people.

Maisy has (had?) two huge triggers: shepherdy looking dogs, and dogs running and playing. She used to be so bad when we did restrained recalls in class that she would become frantic even when we were out of sight in a back room. Just the sound of a handler cheerfully calling "come!" would send her over the edge. So imagine my surprise when she sat in my lap ringside, calm as could be, while a laekenois was sent running over a jump! She didn't even bat an eye when that dog came out of the ring and played tug!

I fed her plenty of treats, of course, and I was surprised by how soft her mouth was. Over the course of three hours, she never once took treats roughly, frantically, or with her teeth! This is pretty impressive since the first sign of stress she shows is a hard mouth. In fact, this is the most "stressed" she looked all weekend (and it's not stress at all, simply interest):

Despite all of this amazingness, I went home feeling a bit apprehensive. Maisy doesn't exactly have a history of recovering from stress well. In the past, she's been edgy and hyper-vigilant for several days after a trial. I expected to see some of that this week and... I didn't. Even on Tuesday night, when we went to our reactive dog class, she was fine. I expected barking and lunging and over-the-top theatrics, but it was business as usual.

So, look out, Minnesota: Maisy and I are back in business. We're ready to enter that ring and kick your butts... or at least have fun trying! Because Q or no Q, I will always be proud of my girl. Maisy has overcome adversity, and in doing so, she has proven herself to be a true champion.

I think it's time...

I have a friend who calls her dog “recovering reactive.” I like that term. It's a nice nod to the past while simultaneously acknowledging the progress her dog has made. Despite this, I have never felt comfortable claiming the label as our own; I didn't feel that Maisy was at the point where I could call her “recovering.”

Well, I think it's time.

First, she relaxed in class. Then, she realized that dudes really aren't that bad. Plus, who can forget her laid back evening with a pack of dogs and a bunch of people?

And now? Well, today she was awesome.

It started out with a trip to the vet for her annual exam. We walked in, and there were three very fiesty Westies in the waiting room, barking their fool heads off and straining on their leashes towards us. Maisy glanced over at them, wagged her tail softly, and then smiled at me. We walked up to the front desk on a loose leash, and she sat by my side, still wagging softly, her eyes barely leaving my face. We went into the exam room, and Maisy laid down at my feet while we waited for the doctor. She continued to be calm and relaxed throughout the appointment, even when she had a bunch of blood drawn.

I was proud of how she'd done, and if the day had ended there, I would have been quite happy with her behavior. But it didn't end there. On the way home, I stopped to see a friend at a conformation show. I left Maisy in the car, and when I returned to check on her, I was happy to find her pretty relaxed. Although I hadn't planned to bring Maisy in- she'd had quite the day already with those Westies, after all- when I got her out to stretch her legs, she pulled me to a mud puddle and began drinking out of it. I decided we'd best go inside to get a drink of (clean) water.

We walked past this:

And down this hall:

And the whole time, she was gently wagging her tail and smiling at me. I even carried a full bowl of water in my leash hand without spilling any! If you saw her, you'd never know she was reactive. We weren't inside for very long, but still- that was a pretty overwhelming environment for Maisy, and she had to walk right by several big dogs

I was so, so proud of her. In fact, I was so proud that I think my friend got tired of me saying, “But she walked past all this! And she was calm!” Meanwhile, Maisy was out in the car for another couple of hours, still pretty relaxed when I returned. Wow.

So, that whole reactive label? It's a thing of the past. From now on, I will think of Maisy as a recovering reactive dog. I think it's time.

I'm starting to re-think that whole "reactive" thing...

On Saturday, Maisy and I headed over to my friend Megan’s house for an evening full of friends and fun. The car ride over was interesting; in addition to Maisy and I, we also somehow fit my husband Brian, my friend Elizabeth, and her greyhound, Beckett, into my Honda Fit.

Laura was already there with corgi Lance and toller Vito when we arrived. Maisy has met both Lance and Vito in the past, but only briefly. Also present was Megan’s springer, Buzz.

We spent a little time training (Laura is a master trick trainer, and talked me through the finer points of a few tricks with Maisy), and then Lauren and her boyfriend Ryan arrived. Despite the fact that he's a dude, Maisy likes Ryan.

Finally, Sara and her new dog, Dobby, arrived. Dobby is a profoundly neophobic Minnesota White-Toed Chipmunk Dog, so he stayed in the car until we were ready to go for a walk through the woods. Maisy had never met Dobby before. (Dobby did great, too, in case you were wondering.)

After our walk, we headed back inside for supper and movies. I was actually quite impressed by how well Maisy did. Despite having six dogs, one cat, and eight people all crowded into Megan’s house- where she’s never been before- she was fairly relaxed. She did have a few instances where she barked reactively at reflections in the windows, but overall, she was able to relax. She was social and spent time with everyone (especially Elizabeth), and even took a nap with me!

Photo by Sara.

Best yet, there were no lingering after-effects. Oh, sure, she was exhausted on Sunday, but so was I. But she wasn’t more anxious or vigilant around the house than usual on either Sunday or Monday, which is awesome, especially considering that last Thanksgiving, she took almost a week to recover.



I shared this video (the same one I put on Facebook on Sunday) with Maisy’s veterinary behaviorist, who called it a “breakthrough” for Maisy. I hadn’t thought of it as a breakthrough at a time, although I was very happy with how she did. After thinking about it, though, her behavior was a pretty big deal. That was a lot of chaos, and she was able to relax while we were there. She was able to recover quickly. And she was, dare I say it, happy pretty much the whole time. This is a far cry from the dog she used to be, and I’m beginning to wonder if that whole “reactive” thing is really true anymore…

Dudes: Maybe Not So Scary

Awhile back, I described a "dude incident," in which Maisy rushed towards a man and circled his legs, nipping (but not making contact) at him while barking and growling. It scared the crap out of me because I don't want her to cross that line between putting on a big display and having a bite history. After talking it over with both my veterinary behaviorist and my dog trainer, we came to the conclusion that Maisy's medication had made her feel brave enough to face her fears.

Since then, I've spent a lot of time in pet stores, on walks, and hanging around outside so that I could counter-condition her to men (especially those wearing hats). Although it's probably too soon to declare complete success, she has come a long way in the last two months. Last weekend, we had another huge snowstorm, and in the aftermath, Maisy had two encounters with dudes. She did well both times.

Sunday night, I was out walking Maisy, trying to see how bad the roads were (and wondering if I'd be able to get to work the next day) when we ran across someone stuck in the road. The dude asked me to help him and I didn't want to say no (in Minnesota, you just don't want to risk that kind of bad karma). I tried, but we couldn't get his car to budge. It was stuck. Then, a nice snowplow driver stopped to help... and yes, the snowplow driver was also a dude. In a hat. Although I was a bit nervous, Maisy did just fine with both of them. She was relaxed and happy to hang out while we shoveled and pushed.

The next day, I took Maisy for another walk, and this time, we ran across our mail carrier who is, yes, a dude. And he was very bundled up, wearing a hat and scarf, carrying a huge bag full of mail, and just generally lumbering along. Again, I thought Maisy might be upset by the sight of him, but she wasn't. In fact, she was super excited, and had a full-on helicopter tail and was wuffing little excitement barks. She really wanted to meet him. Sadly, mail carriers do not feel as fondly about little spastic dogs.

I'm feeling very hopeful about these recent dude encounters. I knew that medication and behavior modification needed to go hand-in-hand, but even so, I'm impressed by how well the two work together. Maisy has made a lot of progress with each separately, but the combination is amazing. And I'm so happy, and so proud of her.