The AwkWalk

Through Meetup.com I discovered a support group for owners of fearful and reactive dogs.  They do group hikes that they call "AwkWalks" which are basically a structured group activity where you can practice training and counterconditioning your dog in a non judgmental environment.  Delilah and I went, and there was one other dog and owner, and then the organizer came without her dog.  Anyone's allowed with or without a dog, and the dogs wear color coded bandanas- blue if they're friendly and yellow if they need space.

Delilah did so well and the other dog was very lovely too (I actually know her from the daycare I work at).  It was really nice to be able to talk to other owners that face similar challenges with their dogs as me and Delilah.  We also talked about the different trainers we've worked with in the area and training classes we've done.  We're definitely looking forward to going on more of these hikes in the future!

Reactive Rover Graduate!

Last week Delilah graduated her Reactive Rover class!  I'm so proud of her, she tried so hard to focus and work during class, even when she got stressed or anxious.  She was such a good girl!  I'm really glad we took this class, it was so interesting and gave us a lot of ideas and exercises to work on.

I talked to the trainer after the last class and asked him if he thought she was ready to take "normal dog" classes.  I was specifically interested in his recall class.  He said she might not do well in the recall class because there are some points when the dogs are off leash in class and he wouldn't want her getting trampled by bigger dogs, but that he does drop in class that teach the same skills, just on leash, that he said she would do well in.  So we might end up doing those.  Or we might just go straight back to sports.

Obviously, before we do any more training, she going to need to get surgery for her knees.  She has grade 3 luxating patellas and they have been getting progressively worse.  So the next thing we're going to focus on with her is that. 

After, if surgery goes well, we may do private agility lessons with the goal of being able to take agility classes if she is able to handle that environment without getting too stressed or overwhelmed.  If surgery does not go as well as I hope, we may start taking some nose work classes instead.  There are a few classes in my area and I've heard it's a good, low key sport for anxious dogs.

So proud of Delilah!

Reactive Rover Update and New Diet

Delilah's Reactive Rover class last Friday went pretty well again.  There were three dogs including Delilah- it looks like one of the dogs that missed last class won't be back.  We expanded upon the Look At That game and now we're naming the behavior "look" and clicking and treating after Delilah looks at the trigger and then looks back at me.  I could tell she seemed a little more stressed with the third dog but she was able to work through it well.  At one point I knelt down and she walked up and stared me and I scratched her neck for her.  When she gets stressed she stares at me when she doesn't know what to do and she's trying to hold it together.  She's a very good girl, she tries very hard.

In other news Delilah has about a month left of her Zignature kibble and then I'm going to switch her to a BARF raw diet.  I'm very excited to try this and see how it goes!  I just joined my local pet food store's Raw Club so I'll get 10% off of meat and raw food and if it's on sale they'll double the discount!  I've also been scoping out my local grocery stores looking for different organs and proteins.  I'm primarily going to feed her chicken, beef, and turkey but there's also fish, rabbit, bison, goat, and more around her that I can occasionally throw in!

My main concerns are about feeding the correct amount and proportions for her small size, choking on bones, and if eating meat on a regular basis will lower the value of food used for training.  I bought a couple of books about feeding raw diets called "Natural Nutrition for Dogs and Cats" by Kymythy R. Schultze and "Dr. Becker's Real Food for Healthy Dogs and Cats" by Beth Taylor and Karen Shaw Becker.  Both books have A LOT of information on nutrition as well as some recipes and diet plans that I could follow, so that's really helpful.

Reactive Rover and Homework

Delilah's second Reactive Rover class last Friday went really well. One dog is no longer coming to class and another didn't show so it was just Delilah and the black dog who has also been pretty good so we were able to get a lot of one on one attention.

We did the Look at That game for a lot of the class and the trainer started it by moving around the room and making different noises and movements to get the dogs' attention and we clicked and treated as soon as they looked at him. Then we took turns where one owner would walk their dog around the room and give them lots of praise and keep them moving while the other dog sat and got clicked and rewarded for watching the owner and the dog that were moving.

Towards the end Delilah started getting stressed again and started looking for spots on the ground. I was able to get her focus for the rest of class and I asked the trainer about it. He said not to drop her treats on the ground because that might be why she's looking for the spots. It's going to be hard bending down to give her treats in a timely manner lol. But I'll give it a try. Small dog problems haha.

We had some homework to take the dog out to different places (or around the neighborhood if they're reactive on regular walks) and play LAT with triggers.  Overall Delilah did really well on her walks and also at a few places I took her.  She had a couple of issues.  Once when I took her to a pet store.  It was a weekday morning so it wasn't busy at all and she did really well with the employees there.  But then when I was at the register paying for a Pet Corrector (to deter the off leash dogs I mentioned in my last post) a woman came up behind us and bent right over Delilah and started talking to her.  She reacted snarling and lunging immediately.  The woman was still trying to pet her!  I stepped in between and asked for space but Delilah never recovered from that so we left the pet store after paying.  I noticed Delilah doesn't like people leaning over her, talking to her, or making direct contact, but is perfectly happy to greet strangers that act neutral or make themselves small (standing sideways or crouching down).  Basically she does better with dog savvy people.

The other time we had an issue is I met a friend for a walk that Delilah hadn't met before.  She barked at first but we quickly got that under control and she was comfortable walking with the friend when we were outside.  I invited the friend in the house and Delilah started barking when she saw the friend was going to enter "her territory."  Since I was trying to be social and didn't want to work with Delilah while I had a friend over, I put her outside on her tie out with a raw marrow bone for her to chew on and she seemed happy about that.

We have another class tonight and I'm very excited!  Delilah doing really well in general and I hope this class is helping her.  It's certainly very interesting and I'm glad we're taking it.

First Reactive Rover Class

Well we finally went to Delilah's first Reactive Rover class- the last two were postponed due to snow and icy roads. I really enjoyed it! I gave her a hemp oil treat before class hoping to take the edge off of any stress or anxiety she might feel during the class. She had gotten her fluoxetine earlier that morning.

The trainer taught us a handful of exercises to use to engage our dogs- some basic things like default sits, hand touch, eye contact when you say their name, etc. Delilah already knew these things pretty well. We had missed the previous class but I don't think they covered anything new for us in that class.

But then we applied them in some activities, and this was really helpful. There are four dog students with their owners and we each got our own corner of the room to work in (with a gate to block their view if needed). One activity we did was we took turns taking one step at a time towards the center of the room- the point was to use our voice and the exercises to keep our dogs engaged and non reactive as they moved closer to triggers. The trainer watched their body language and had us return to our corners before any of the dogs went past their threshold. 
The other activity was we all walked clockwise around the room and at each corner we came to we practiced a different activity that we had learned.

The trainer really emphasizes using a happy voice and praise and NOT verbally or physically correcting the dogs. Also a lot of clicker training so far.

Delilah did really, really well. I had no idea how she would react in that class. In the beginning she did bark at the trainer a few times but he tossed her chicken throughout the class and she liked it so much she even touched his hand when he asked her to touch. She's worked well with our agility trainers in the past but she's never worked with a male trainer before. 

She focused on me the entire time and did everything I asked (I had some really smelly tuna treats so I'm sure that had something to do with it). I could tell towards the end she was starting to get stressed but the class ended shortly after so she never got to the point where she would have lost it. It's at a dog kennel and there was a lot of hair and dust on the floor- when she gets stressed she starts fixating on things like that and that's a big problem we had during agility lessons. Towards the end she started looking at the hair on the floor but didn't chase it and was very easy to redirect, so that's good at least.

There's another little black dog there that was similar to Delilah- he seemed nervous and shy but the owner has done a lot of training with him so he knew all of the exercises too and didn't seem to react to anything. And there were a couple of other dogs and those two seemed to have more trouble in the class. One was pretty engaged with his owner but the other seems to be a very reactive dog and has a low threshold so had some difficulty with the activities. And when she starts reacting the other would sometimes bark and lunge back. I'm not judging those dogs and owners at all- Delilah used to be much more reactive herself so I understand. Delilah seemed a little unsure and worried by the reacting dogs but she didn't react to them herself- just watched.

I'm so proud of her- she tries really hard to be a good girl, it's just harder for her than it is for other dogs. She did a really good job last night.

I really like this trainer too and I saw he offers a recall class. Maybe if Delilah does well in this class we'll be able to take that one next. She still needs knee surgery before she can get back into agility but it would be nice to focus on foundational skills like recall, impulse control, etc in the meantime.

Whew that was a lot of writing- here's an obligatory Delilah photo!

Spring Finally Here?

Today is beautiful out!  Delilah and I went on a walk and I wore a short sleeve t shirt and neither of us got cold!  We did some training outside too.

I'm hoping it continues to get warm.  Last week there was a really gross sleet/snow storm and our Reactive Rover class got postponed.  Same with the week before.  We are still waiting to start our first class because it keeps getting pushed back on account of terrible weather and icy roads.  And then of course a few weeks ago was that monster of a blizzard.  I just want it to be spring!

We just moved to a new town.  My parents had moved to MA and so we're renting their old house (my childhood home) in Essex.  It's so nice, so much space, a big yard.  Delilah loves it.

My boyfriend had a friend over last night.  Delilah only barked a few times but overall was under control and seemed much more relaxed than in the past.  Our theories are she feels more comfortable and less claustrophobic/trapped in the bigger space, it's a new house so she may not be feeling territorial about it at all, and she was wearing her Gentle Leader for the first time during training.  I had a leash attached to it for the first ten minutes or so but when it appeared she was relatively relaxed I put the lead on her harness instead.  But I've heard dogs have a pressure point on their muzzle that promotes calm and compliant behavior, so I wonder if this tool has an affect on that area.

Conditioning to wear the Gentle Leader

Anyways, she only barked a few times but was easy to redirect and was calm and quiet for most of the evening.  The friend even brushed past her a few times and she didn't react.  This is huge!  I'm so hopeful that she will continue to improve!

Lastly, it was my birthday since I last posted.  So obviously that means I got some cool Delilah-themed gifts.  My grandma got me a dog bed that Delilah loves, where she can go under a flap and stay warm.  And my boyfriend got me the greatest gift- an amazing portrait of Delilah!

Custom portrait by Karin Viko

It's Been Warm Out!

After a long few months indoors, yesterday it was finally warm enough to take the tiny terrier outside!  Hailing from Tennessee and being only 6 lbs with a short coat, Delilah can't stand temperatures below 50F.  Yesterday got up to 63F!  She still hated it though, the ground was all wet from the melting snow and she hates getting her paws wet.  

Mom, it's wettttt.

Soon it will be spring though, and warm all of the time!  And we can start adventuring again.  We're moving at the end of March to my childhood house.  It's right across the road from some really nice hiking trails so that will be fun to hike and swim every day!

I also signed Delilah up for the Reactive Rover class in March.  It's going to be an interesting class, I'm looking forward to learning some new things and practicing with her in a class environment.

Update: Luxating Patellas and Behavior Modification

Welp, it looks like Delilah is going to need surgery for her knees.  We went to the vet recently and she was officially diagnosed with grade 3 bilateral luxating patellas.  We talked about treatment and management options and it was recommended that she has surgery in the next 6 months since she is young, fit, and it hasn't become inflamed yet.  The estimated cost of surgery for both knees is a little over $3,000!  I'm definitely going to be applying for care credit.

We also talked about increasing her fluoxetine to see if that will help with her Canine Compulsive Disorder.  We've been seeing some progress with Delilah's anxiety and behavior, but not really any improvement with her compulsive behaviors.  She's now on 5 mg of fluoxetine and we're also trying some CBD dog treats (made with hemp oil) as a supplement.  I was particularly interested in seeing if it would help with her anxiety, but CBD's supposed to be helpful for a number of ailments including arthritis and joint pain/inflammation, so I'm hoping it will help manage her knees as well until she gets surgery.

In terms of behavior modification, she is continuing to improve slowly.  My boyfriend's sister stayed overnight yesterday and it was the first time Delilah's experienced a "stranger" staying for so long.  At first she was very reactive and loud but I had her on a lead and did some counter conditioning and impulse control exercises with her and she soon quieted down enough to even relax on her bed in front of the fire place!  She was very interested in his sister and would go up to her, sit next to her, and even try to give her kisses, but then Delilah would remember that she was a "stranger" and get freaked out and run away barking.  She definitely wants to interact, she just gets so anxious.  But overall she did very well, she was very manageable and tried her best to listen to me and calm down.

In the morning we stayed in bed until his sister left.  Delilah would alarm bark if she heard her talking downstairs but easily quieted down after.  This is a huge change from before the medication and behavior consult, when she couldn't quiet down at all, and would just bark and scream until well after the guest had left.  

On a separate note, I just found out a trainer's offering Reactive Rover classes in my area.  I've been talking with him to see if the class would be appropriate for Delilah.  I feel like a class tailored to dogs with special needs like that could be a good step towards taking agility lessons again.  And maybe I'd learn some new techniques and ideas for helping Delilah manage her emotions and impulses.

I put Delilah's bed in front of the fireplace where it would be most comfortable for her and also give her some space from the "stranger."  We started "place" after she calmed down enough to work.  It took about an hour of counter conditioning (dropping treats) to get her to stop reacting and be able to focus enough to work.

Right now she is still nervous and alert but staying in her "place" because I asked her to (and because she's getting a lot of chicken).

After about 20 minutes she finally relaxed and napped by the fire.  This is incredible progress for her.  This is where practicing "place," Karen Overall's protocol for relaxation, and counter conditioning and desensitization to strangers is paying off!

We're Back!

Hey everyone!  I have been away for awhile, a lot has happened in the past few months.  I accepted a position with the TSA and had to go away for training.  I've also parted ways with my punk band and was pretty depressed about it.  But Delilah and I are back for the new year!

Not much has happened in terms of training and behavior- we still work on obedience and tricks, but nothing too exciting.  Delilah's reactivity towards strangers continues to improve but I haven't seen much of change in her compulsive behaviors.  We're going to talk to the vet about increasing her fluoxetine.  I might do another training session with the trainer we had been working with.  Otherwise, after the holidays I'm going to look into private lessons for agility or rally obedience for Delilah and I.  Even if we can't compete, it'll be something fun to do.

I've personally been getting very excited for this new movie coming out in January, "A Dog's Purpose."  I haven't read the book, nor have I even been able to find it in the bookstores I usually shop at.  But the previews look so good, I know I'm going to cry.  The website for the film has a couple of cool activities you can do with a picture of your dog.  Make a movie poster or add your dog's photo (and your blog or social media link) to the site's mosaic of pet and adoptable dogs.

Another exciting thing that will be happening soon is that I ordered an Embark DNA test for Delilah.  I can't wait to see what breeds it detects in her.  It is supposed to be the most accurate and thorough test on the market, and in addition to breed it also screens for over 160 genetic disorders so you know if your dog is affected or a carrier.  We swabbed and sent in the sample already, the results should be up in the next month.  In the meantime, does anyone have any breed guesses for Delilah?

Super Food: Nutritionally Balanced Training

A problem that small dog owners will run into during training is how to balance the amount of treats we're using with our dog's low caloric requirements.  I first realized this in a basic training class I took with Delilah.  Most of the other dogs were larger labs, goldens, and doodles, and a handful of treats to them wasn't a big deal, but for my 6 lbs terrier, that was more calories than she got in a single meal, and less nutritious than her kibble.  The problem was, I couldn't use her kibble in a high stress, distracting environment.  She just wouldn't work for it.  I came across this problem again and again, first in agility and then during behavior modification.  I started looking into alternatives to the typical training treat.

Kibble

Value: Low- Moderate

At home I use Delilah's kibble for training rather than feeding it to her as a meal.  We do a lot of trick training and clicker training in the house with it.  I also use it as a reward (and sometimes a distraction) for basic obedience and impulse control exercises- such as having her wait on her "place" while I fill up her puzzle toys with kibble.  We also use it for mental stimulation games- her puzzle toys as I mentioned, hiding it in easter eggs around the house, tossing it around for her to chase and fine.

For dogs that are highly motivated by kibble, or for training in low distraction environments, it's really easy to just measure out how much food they eat every day and use it for training sessions instead of dumping it in a bowl.

Natural Balance Dog Food Rolls

Value: High

My trainer suggested this food in particular to me.  It's a semi moist roll of dog food that can be cut or crumbled into small pieces.  It's very smelly and palatable, making it a high value treat for Delilah.  But it's dry and safe to handle, unlike the raw food I use, so it's ideal for training in high distraction or stressful situations indoors, or when you just need to keep your hands clean.  It's completely nutritionally balanced and can be fed on its own as a meal, so your dog isn't getting empty calories and it can replace a meal if needed.  We specifically use it for counter conditioning in our house when we have guests over.  Delilah is very fearful of strangers and doesn't like anyone in the house who isn't me or my boyfriend.  We've had a lot of success using this food though.  My boyfriend's friend came over- Delilah hates him- but she was so engaged with training that he even commented about how well she was behaving.

OC Raw Dog Food

Value: High

I bought this on a whim at a local pet food store.  I was looking for raw food nuggets, and these were on sale.  Delilah LOVES them.  These are raw food nuggets, meant to be fed as the primary part of a dog's diet, so again no empty calories.  They've got great, wholesome ingredients- 90% meat, organ, and bone and 10% fruits and veggies.  Simple, healthy, and tasty.  Raw food in general is very high value for Delilah (and for most dogs).  The only issue I've had with these as treats is that they thaw very quickly, and when they do, they turn from nuggets to meat mush.  They get pretty messy.  I still use them for training outdoors- specifically for counter conditioning and obedience on hikes.  I'll even mix kibble in with them so when they melt they coat the kibble and I still have a solid piece of food to use as a treat.  I would never use them indoors though!

Nature's Variety Instinct Raw

Value: Moderate- High

I use two products from this company.  The Raw Boost Mixers are freeze dried nuggets that I feed dry as moderate value treats.  They are clean to handle, and healthy, but are only meant to supplement a diet, so shouldn't regularly replace a meal.

Instinct Raw Bites are another nutritionally balanced frozen raw food I use for a high value reward.  They have the benefit of retaining their nugget form as they thaw, rather than turning into ground mush like the OC Raw.  I still only use them outdoors or in areas where a little bit of a mess isn't going to be a big deal like at our training facility.  They also have a slightly different ratio than OC- 95% meat, organ, and bone and 5% fruits and veggies.

Play

Value: Moderate- High

In addition to treats, I use play in training whenever I can to cut down on calories and also keep Delilah engaged and excited about training.  It becomes a game to her.  I use tugs and tennis balls for agility training, and a game of fetch can become a training session when I ask her to perform behaviors before throwing the toy.


What about you?  How do you balance training with your pup's diet?

Hay There! (And a Training Update)

Sam's sister and her boyfriend ended up coming over last night.  Delilah has met them before but has still been uncomfortable with them.  We followed the steps in the report the trainer gave us for introducing her to guests outside.  I started off far away and was giving her raw meat nuggets and we got gradually closer.  She didn't bark at all outside and seemed more interested in the food than the visitors.

They went inside first and Delilah barked several times while we were still outside the house, because she could see them moving and talking inside.  I switched to Natural Balance semi moist food when we moved into the house because I didn't want raw food on the floor.

Once we were inside she quieted down and focused on the food again.  I tossed pieces onto the rug for her to find.  Overall she did really well- we were all in the living room together and they were on the couch and Delilah and I were by the rug.  

She did freak out a little when the boyfriend stood up- she made these high pitched shrieks and tried to run at him- but I had her on a leash and stepped on it.  The rest of the visit was uneventful.  I moved her into the kitchen when he came out of the bathroom until he was sitting back down.

We went on a hike after that and she was fine with both of them during the hike and they completely ignored her- didn't try to look at her or talk to her or anything.  She was on a long lead for the hike.  I was still giving her treats on the hike.

She was actually super good for the entire visit!  I'm so proud of my little girl and excited that this new training procedure worked so well!

Delilah's Behavior Consult

1) Medication
I'm going to make an appointment for Delilah at a different vet clinic and get her on fluoxetine/prozac. I kind of expected that medication would be recommended.

2) Anxiety/Reactivity
Delilah has been very reactive to strangers and becomes very distressed when anyone other than me or my boyfriend are in the house. We talked about exercises we could do to countercondition and desensitize her to visitors. We also came up with a new way to introduce Delilah to visitors by meeting them outside and allowing the visitors to enter the house first. There's actually a whole protocol with a lot of different steps we're supposed to follow for visitors involving Delilah watching them approach the house, enter the house, leave the house, sit down, etc. I already have a few friends who volunteered to help to stage some training situations for me.
We're also going to try out a thundershirt and a calming cap, as well as increasing mental stimulation. She said we were already doing a good job with trick and agility training, and the food puzzles Delilah has, but she gave us some other ideas for mental stimulation as well.

3) Compulsive Disorder
The hope is that fluoxetine will help. We're not supposed to let Delilah engage in any activity that she is unable to complete the motor sequence. Like if she can't physically catch anything. So no chasing dust or light of course, but we're not allowed to play with her with bubbles or water either, which is too bad because she loves those. I'm also not supposed to redirect Delilah with a toy anymore because the trainer thinks that might be reinforcing the behavior at least partially. Delilah's very attached to me and doesn't like being away from me so she said if Delilah doesn't listen when I tell her to stop the compulsive behaviors, I should leave the room or the house for a minute or so. She said Delilah is very fixated but doesn't look like she's completely spaced out so she might be "there" enough to learn and understand consequences.
She said there was likely a genetic component to Delilah's behavior- apparently Wire Fox Terriers are predisposed to compulsive disorder and the Toy Fox Terriers and the Smooth Fox Terriers they are descended from are closely related.

4) Sports/Classes/Agility
Since Delilah's most intense compulsive behavior has occurred during agility classes and barn hunt, she said Delilah was way over threshold and may never be able to handle a class or trial environment.  She encouraged us to continue practicing on our own for mental stimulation and said if Delilah makes any significant progress with her anxiety and compulsive behavior then we could look into private lessons. She recommended an agility trainer to me that she knows that does private outdoor lessons. I'm hoping Delilah can get to that point.

Delilah Behavior Update!

I've been talking about it for almost a year now, but we're finally going to consult with a trainer about Delilah's anxiety and compulsive behaviors.

For those of you who are newer to the blog- Delilah has a few behavioral problems that we've been trying to work on pretty much since we adopted her last July.

She is very nervous and vocal around strangers, she does NOT like anyone coming over to our house. She spends the entire time yapping, even if we put her in another room.  Delilah can be reactive towards strangers on leash (but has improved a lot with that). According to my boyfriend, she also gets very upset when I leave, and will spend around 20-30 minutes crying at the door, running around the house, and sniffing all of my things as if she were looking for me. Even when he's still home with her. 

The sound didn't work in this video from last November, but she is making a high pitched whining noise the entire time.

She seems to have some compulsive behaviors as well- fixating on dust, light, spots on the ground- and this occurs most frequently in situations where she's stressed or anxious. The more stressed she is the more intense the behavior is and the harder it is to break her focus and call her away.  When we did barn hunt she did that at the gate to the enclosure we were in and I tried everything: calling her, clapping, yelling, running away from her to get her to chase me, kneeling on the ground, etc to try to get her to leave the dust (we would have been DQ'd if I physically touched or removed her).  She didn't even notice.

This is the behavior she does during agility and barn hunt- except more intense.

She first started doing this in agility class with the agility equipment.  It got to the point where she wasn't learning anything and I was getting embarrassed and frustrated.  She would just chase dust the entire time instead of doing the exercises or practicing with the equipment. 

I thought maybe she would like barn hunt because she enjoys murdering small animals so we tried that in June.  She did really well for her first run but just fixated on dust during her last two runs.  Even when I showed her where the rat was she wasn't interested- she just went back to chasing dust.  The thing is, I moved the dust away so there wasn't anything there, and she still kept pouncing at the gate, like she thought it was.

My vet saw those videos and said he didn't think it looked unusual and was just "her being her."  I persisted, saying that it was interfering with training and that she was very anxious in general.  He gave me some VetriScience Composure chews- which haven't really helped significantly at all.

Lastly, a minor concern compared to the other things, she just doesn't have a great recall. When she was younger we worked a lot on it and it was great, but when she matured her prey drive seemed to take over and now she blocks me out if there's a squirrel or bird or something. So now we can't go hiking unless she's on a leash, which is an inconvenience for both of us.

So those are the things we're hoping to work on with this trainer.  I've had several email exchanges with her and she seems very experienced and knowledgeable, especially with these particular problems.  I'm really hopeful and I think it's going to go well.  We made a date for the 19th and my boyfriend's going to take work off so he can be involved as well!  I'll keep you guys posted!

Agility Practice

So... the Barn Hunt Trial Went Okay...

Apologies again to any followers I might actually have- my life's super busy with work, music, and dog stuff so I try to post when I can.

Last Saturday Delilah and I drove 3 hours to Raymond, NH for a barn hunt trial.  I honestly had no idea how'd she do.  She has a very high prey drive but she also obsesses over clumps of hair, dust, spots on the ground, and light/shadows.  I wasn't sure if she'd look for the rat or just fixate on those stupid little things and ignore everything else like she does in agility.  We couldn't make it to the practice in NH on Friday night.  I brought her to the pet store on Friday to show her some rats and get her excited but of course that was the day all of the animals were out of stock.  So we just had to wing it.

She was so confused at first- we were sitting at the debriefing before the first trial and she was just staring at me because she didn't know what was going on. She actually did okay with reactivity- unless people came over to talk to me or she heard other dogs barking, she was pretty well behaved. And there were actually a lot of reactive dogs there so at least she wasn't the only one!

The first trial was her instinct test. I was holding her in the starting box and let her go, and I saw she was about to run over to start chasing the clumps of hair on the ground so I yelled, "Delilah, let's go!" and started running towards the rat tubes. She ran after me and sniffed the first tube, ran to the second and got very interested. I called "rat" and we were right! She got the fastest time out of the small dogs, a ribbon, and her RATI title.  I really had no idea how she'd do and was so happy that she found the rat instead of chasing hair/dust/shadows.

Unfortunately, the second trial we did was the Novice trial, and she didn't do as well. I released her from the start box and she went right to the fence and started chasing hair. I did EVERYTHING- I called her, yelled, clapped, ran around, looked like an idiot lol. She completely ignored everything I did- I couldn't touch her or we'd be DQ'd. I had been so hopeful and my dreams died right there. I was really frustrated and embarrassed. I watched her chase dust for two minutes until our time was up.

The last trial, I thought she'd do the same thing again but I figured I already paid for it and drove 3 hours to get there so we might as well try again. Nope, she did the same thing. I was able to call her away once and I got hopeful again because she ran towards me through the tunnel (in novice the dog has to do three things: go under a tunnel, jump on a hay bale, and find the rat). But then she ran right back to the fence and started chasing... things... again.

I think the judge noticed that I was disappointed and told me that once she "gets it" she's going to be amazing. It's the same thing with agility though- she would be wonderful if she didn't fixate on the hair/spots/shadows on the ground and ignore everything else.

Now I've definitely made up my mind to call a vet. behaviorist before continuing with agility or barn hunt though. If my terrier won't even go after a rat because she's fixating on these stupid little things, then there's definitely something wrong with her. I really hope we can figure this out because I got a dog to do things with- and if I can't train her because she fixates and can't take her places because she's reactive- well, I'm not going to get rid of her or anything but I didn't get a dog to leave at home all the time. So I don't know, we have stuff to figure out. It's just hard being online and in real life seeing everyone doing amazing things with their dogs while my dog is broken, after waiting so long to get one of my own.

Otherwise, it actually was a lot of fun and everyone was really nice. I hope we're able to figure out her issues and do this more in the future, maybe even start a VT team or club!

On the bright side, here she is with her ribbon! She's super cute, she's got that going for her.

Delilah Has Been Registered!

So I'm taking a break from agility classes for the next 6 weeks while we financially recover from moving.   Delilah's super stoked about the new place.  It's a condo, as opposed to the tiny apartment we've been living in.  She's been sprinting around the condo, up and down the stairs, and just sitting in front of the window for hours on end watching everything going on outside.  She's so happy, and so am I!

While we're "in between" agility classes, I signed us up for a couple different things.  The first is just an hour long agility session where we focus on the teeter totter, because Delilah has only been introduced to that briefly.

The other thing, that I'm really excited about is... (drum roll)... BARN HUNT!  Yesterday I registered Delilah with the Barn Hunt Association.  Her official name is now Lil Miss Jones!  We're planning on going to a competition in New Hampshire on June 11th.  We will be entering an Instinct trial and at least one Novice trial (possibly two, depending on funds and time).  Unfortunately there's not really any opportunity for barn hunt in Vermont right now, but depending on how much we enjoy it, we might try to get a club started.  We'll see how it goes.

We Had a Great Day on Saturday!

When I got Delilah almost a year ago, she was a very fearful little dog.  At first she was shut down and quiet and didn't want to leave the house.  Then she became a little more comfortable and found her voice and became reactive to strangers.  A stereotypical yappy little dog.  We've been doing a lot of work on that.  We've taken training classes, worked on counter conditioning, LAT, socialization, conditioned relaxation, and basic obedience and this past weekend was a reflection on the progress she's made!  Last fall I couldn't even walk her without her yapping at everyone who walked past.  We couldn't walk down Church Street at all because it was so overwhelming for her.  We did a lot of work over the winter and it's starting to show now that it's nice out and we can take her places!

This past Saturday Sam had to go to the bank and we decided to all walk there together (TD Bank is dog friendly).  We walked down Church St. (always busy on a Saturday morning), through the Farmer's Market (crowded with people and dogs), and into the bank where she sat next to me and gave me her full attention the entire time.  I had brought her breakfast mixed with some hot dogs and rewarded her for being quiet, looking at strangers, and looking at me.  She was SO good!  She even got a big dog treat from the bank!

Then on the way home we walked around the Farmer's Market.  While Sam was in line to get some local root beer, Delilah and I went to a vendor selling organic dog treats (Vermont Dog Eats).  She was very excited to be able to try a few samples and seemed to really enjoy them- she started scouring the ground licking up crumbs that other dogs must have missed.  Really simple, healthy ingredients and a portion of the profits are donated to local rescues and animal welfare organizations.  We're definitely going to go back and buy some once we've recovered from the move.

We walked up Church St on the way home and she was great despite all of the strange people.  She jumped on a rock and a couple of people came over wanting to visit her.  I told them not to touch her but they could see if she wanted to come to them.  She crept over, sniffing and wagging her little tail.  She was nervous but curious.  Then she started kissing the woman's hand!  She's come such a long way.  She still has issues with strangers and especially in indoor areas but she has gotten so much better over the past 10 months!  I was so proud of her.

Look At That at the Farmer's Market

Hanging out on Church St.

Busy Month!

Hey, haven't posted in a while!  Things have been really busy here with work, applying to a new job, searching for a new apartment, and playing more shows with my band... oh yeah, and we just started agility training!

Training:
Delilah finished the prep school prerequisite course for agility and started beginner's agility!  So far we've practiced weave poles a lot and she's getting pretty good at them.  She catches on to clicker training and patterns quickly.  We were going to practice a jump last class but Delilah got distracted and ran away when I let her off leash to jump so instead we practiced staying still.  It's something she struggles with.  I brought her hiking today at the middle school and they have a track and athletic fields.  I practiced her off leash recall, heeling, sit-stay, set up, and left and right over a jump.  She did really, really well, even though she hasn't been outside with distractions very much since last fall.

I'm also house-sitting for my parents (and watching Mia) this week so they have a yard I'm definitely going to take advantage of.  I bought about $32 worth of PVC piping and made a jump and a set of 6 weave polls.  We practiced with those this afternoon as well and she did awesome!  She was so excited she ran out and just started circling the poles and going over the jump before I even told her to do anything (I did have some really tasty treats though)!

Health:

After a couple of disappointing visits at our first vet (long story short I got the bill for our last visit and I was charged for a couple of steroid injections that the vet hadn't discussed with me) we changed to a new one.  So far we've had a much better experience at the new practice so we're going to continue going there.  Something interesting that came up- our old vet told me Delilah might have a luxating patella in one of her legs but then during a later visit told me that it felt like it was strengthening and probably a developmental thing.  Well this new vet told us not only does she definitely have a luxating patella, but she has them in both legs.  The good news is that he told us she was so small and light weight that we could still do agility and it will probably never affect her.  So I'm really glad we ended up getting a second opinion about her knees regardless of the other reasons we switched vets.

Adventures:
We've started hiking again!  It's been awhile.  We've mostly just gone to the middle school because they have a lot of open fields for Delilah to sprint around in, as well as a few trails in the woods.  We've been having a lot of fun.  Someone posted in one of the toy fox terrier groups I'm in on facebook- asking if a toy fox terrier would be a good choice for them because they want to hike and train tricks.  A LOT of people said that they're too fragile!!!  Not true at all- Delilah can run and play and hike for hours and it doesn't put a dent in her energy.  There were a few other people that bring their dogs hiking and train them to do things and said that they're tough, awesome little dogs, but man, a lot of those people just keep them inside and let them get fat and lazy, and then call them fragile.  These guys are classified as toy dogs by the AKC, but they are most definitely terriers at heart- it's a shame people aren't letting them be dogs!

I keep her on leash when we get to the road- I don't trust her judgment.

She just loves sprinting around in open areas.

Behavior:

Lastly, we had some big progress with her stranger anxiety/reactivity.  I brought her to my Grandma's house for a family St. Patrick's day dinner.  When the family started arriving I kept her in her crate in the room I had been staying in and I let a few people peek in to see her but not bother her.  She barked a little.  A couple of hours later I took her downstairs to go out and she didn't bark at anyone!  I let her hang out inside with everyone else after that and she was fine.  She was curious about most of the people and ran around with the other dogs (Mia, my grandma's whippet Chloe, my aunt's lab Windsor).  All the other dogs were bigger than her, and scared of her!  Especially Windsor.  He hid behind my aunt and once Delilah got too close- he jumped out and barked loudly at her.  She jumped backwards and fell over, but got up, shook off, and ran back over and started yapping at him.  I quickly got her out of there, but it was really funny- definitely a terrier- trying to take on a dog over 10x her size!  So much sass.

New Training Class Update!

So Delilah and I started her new class this past Monday.  It's the last one we need before agility and it's working on a bunch of skills that she will need to be successful in agility.  During the first class we practiced stay work and recall and learned some different games and exercises to work on.  I was so worried she was going to yap the entire time but the good news is that since we do a lot of off leash work in this class the dogs are in covered crates the whole time.  She yapped a little but then settled down eventually.  And at least she didn't throw one of her tantrums when she doesn't want to be in a crate (there is a lot of screaming involved).

There are only two other students so there was a lot of one on one practice (especially compared to our last class that had 6-8 students each class).  Delilah is the only little dog though and she's the worst behaved so I am a little worried about being judged for that.  Either people thinking that I let her get away with bad behavior because she's a little dog or that all little dogs are poorly behaved.  For some reason there are a lot of "dog people" that don't actually like little dogs so that's something I sometimes worry about with her, because she is the stereotypical yappy little dog/terrier.

We've been practicing the homework almost every day and she's doing really well.  She's so smart.  And it's getting warm out so I'm able to take her outside for exercise and training (when it's below 50* F she just shakes and looks sad).  It's actually been really nice this week- in the 60s yesterday!  Not that I'm for climate change or anything but it was nice to go outside for a couple of hours with her after work.  I'll post some pictures of our adventure later (with her new leash and collar)!

Always Be Prepared!

So proud of both the girls today!

I was in Essex running errands and I decided to stop at my parents' house with Delilah and hang out with Mia.  No one was home so I took them for a walk.

There I was, walking with two dogs (one of them insane), a bag of poop, and in the process of bending down and picking up another poop, when the clip to Delilah's harness broke and she took off sprinting down the street!  Bewildered, I quickly inverted the poop bag and thought for a few seconds about what I should do.  Delilah's crazy and has an incredibly high prey drive.  She is also very independent and will become fixated on small things she sees, smells, or hears.  I thought she was running off after a leaf or something blowing in the wind.

I dropped Mia's leash, and Mia, being the perfect dog that she is, just stood there and waited while I got up and started after Delilah.  I called "Delilah, come!"  She stopped and looked at me.  I called again and she turned around and started sprinting in my direction!  I was sooooo impressed and proud.  Recall is not something we've been practicing during the winter- we hike a lot when it's warm out but the past few months have been too cold for Delilah to spend too much time outside.  She had stopped and thought about what I was telling her, and then decided to listen!

I scooped her up and picked up Mia's leash (she had waited patiently the entire time) and we all went home.

The reason the lesson here is "always be prepared" is because that emergency recall is probably the number 1 most important thing that Delilah could know but I didn't have any treats or a toy to reinforce it!  I gave her a lot of praise and carried her home but I don't think that was appropriate reinforcement for that behavior- especially considering the loss of her freedom and me grabbing her to pick her up may have actually been aversive!  I really wish I had brought a high value reinforcer on that walk!  There's always a training opportunity waiting to happen!

Complementary picture of the girls from today (and an accurate portrayal of Mia's relationship with Delilah)