Here are some video clips of Vanya and his valentine, Miss Plushy.
First, Vanya is trying to be calm as we walk, on leash, near Miss Plushy. He can manage this for a little while, but then he gets frustrated and tries to pull out of his harness: (he's blurry and off in the distance, upper left of screen); see this video and the others after the break....
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Saturday, February 13, 2010
Vanya meets Miss Plushy; falls in love
Vanya got to meet Miss Plushy yesterday, and today they had their second date. I think he's in love, or at least in lust.
Yesterday, he was behaving politely near her, so I let him off leash and gave him the "go say hi!" cue, which I also use with the chickens (and it means: sniff and wag, but no teeth). If Vanya had zoomed over and attacked Miss Plushy, I would have been worried. But instead, he bounded over, tail wagging, sniffed her mouth, then curved around and sniffed her bottom then her groin. He began to seem a little puzzled and came back to her mouth and started licking her muzzle. She fell over (what a nice submissive pup!) and he went back to sniffing her groin, then doing some play bowing in front of her. Eventually, it seemed to occur to him that she was awfully unresponsive, so he started chewing her nose, and at that point I called him away. Then I moved Miss Plushy to new places around the farm, and every time I walked him back into sight of her, he got excited once again: A DOG! Woo Hoo! (Ok, maybe Vanya's not the sharpest knife in the drawer).
I was very reassured that his response to her was to greet her, not to attack her.
Today we went through the routine again. He once again got very, very excited to see her off in the orchard, and had a bit of a hard time heeling politely as we walked in her direction. When I released him to go greet her, he bounded over, tail wagging, and started licking her. So, he's not polite, but at least he's not too aggressive. Just frustrated. Today he decided to try humping her to see if she's wake up and start playing (the very first thing I've ever seen him try to hump). When that didn't work, he decided to chew her toes (ok, I have a pervert for a pup).
Yesterday, he was behaving politely near her, so I let him off leash and gave him the "go say hi!" cue, which I also use with the chickens (and it means: sniff and wag, but no teeth). If Vanya had zoomed over and attacked Miss Plushy, I would have been worried. But instead, he bounded over, tail wagging, sniffed her mouth, then curved around and sniffed her bottom then her groin. He began to seem a little puzzled and came back to her mouth and started licking her muzzle. She fell over (what a nice submissive pup!) and he went back to sniffing her groin, then doing some play bowing in front of her. Eventually, it seemed to occur to him that she was awfully unresponsive, so he started chewing her nose, and at that point I called him away. Then I moved Miss Plushy to new places around the farm, and every time I walked him back into sight of her, he got excited once again: A DOG! Woo Hoo! (Ok, maybe Vanya's not the sharpest knife in the drawer).
I was very reassured that his response to her was to greet her, not to attack her.
Today we went through the routine again. He once again got very, very excited to see her off in the orchard, and had a bit of a hard time heeling politely as we walked in her direction. When I released him to go greet her, he bounded over, tail wagging, and started licking her. So, he's not polite, but at least he's not too aggressive. Just frustrated. Today he decided to try humping her to see if she's wake up and start playing (the very first thing I've ever seen him try to hump). When that didn't work, he decided to chew her toes (ok, I have a pervert for a pup).
Thursday, February 11, 2010
LAT with chickens, Miss Plushy part 2, village walk
SHAPING CALMNESS AROUND THE CHICKENS:
Yesterday Vanya did a very nice job being calm with the chickens. His main concern with the chickens right now is getting to eat their food scraps, of course, but he can still play LAT (even though at first he thought I must have been referring to a squirrel, so he scanned the woods for squirrels rather than looking at the hens). That's fine:
Yesterday Vanya did a very nice job being calm with the chickens. His main concern with the chickens right now is getting to eat their food scraps, of course, but he can still play LAT (even though at first he thought I must have been referring to a squirrel, so he scanned the woods for squirrels rather than looking at the hens). That's fine:
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
feb 2010: practicing with Plushy, the stuffed life-size dog
Our life-sized plush husky came today (from amazon; Melissa & Doug is the brand), and much to my surprise, from a short distance, she really does look real. I had set her up in the snowy orchard for some LAT/shaping calmness/focus around distractions work with Vanya, but I had no idea if he would be persuaded by her, or if instead he would wonder why a stuffed toy was standing out in the snowstorm. My husband drove up, however, and he thought the dog was real--he also thought I had lost my mind, coming home with another dog from the pound.
Once I calmed Frank down, he went out to "play" with the plush stuffed dog in the orchard (let's call her Plushy), while I put Vanya in his harness combination, armed myself with treats, and walked out around the barn, perhaps 100 ft from Plushy and Frank. The instant Vanya saw the two of them, he started pulling and vocalizing with excitement and trying to run over to them (he had already greeted Frank, so this wasn't about seeing Frank--it was his classic attempt to greet a new dog or person. Not aggression, but over threshold. Oops).
Once I calmed Frank down, he went out to "play" with the plush stuffed dog in the orchard (let's call her Plushy), while I put Vanya in his harness combination, armed myself with treats, and walked out around the barn, perhaps 100 ft from Plushy and Frank. The instant Vanya saw the two of them, he started pulling and vocalizing with excitement and trying to run over to them (he had already greeted Frank, so this wasn't about seeing Frank--it was his classic attempt to greet a new dog or person. Not aggression, but over threshold. Oops).feb 2010: apostle island sled dog races
My first sled dog race! What a blast! I want to be a sled dog when I grow up. As a friend said to me, in the midst of the pandemonium from 200 excited sled dogs: "I never thought I'd be around dogs who make Vanya look calm."
For a taste of the sound and excitement:
feb 8 2010: successes
So many of these posts are about Vanya's challenges. But he's also had tons of successes, so here's a quick list of things that used to trigger a stress reaction and now do not. Thanks to Control Unleashed, DS and CC, and tons of cheezwhiz.
feb 7 2010: consult with Sarah Kalnajs of Blue Dog
After a 3 hour private consult with Sarah Kalnajs of Blue Dog Training, she felt Vanya was one of the more hyper-aroused dogs she had ever seen. The Dog's Best Friend private trainer back in Feb. 2008 had said pretty much the same thing. He wins a prize!
Seriously, new environments do get him wound up. For all the progress we've made with him on his arousal issues, he has a long, long ways to go. Wish us luck! We're both exhausted. At some point I will write out the homework and training goals Sarah set for us, and possibly even describe the consult, once I've digested it a bit more.
Seriously, new environments do get him wound up. For all the progress we've made with him on his arousal issues, he has a long, long ways to go. Wish us luck! We're both exhausted. At some point I will write out the homework and training goals Sarah set for us, and possibly even describe the consult, once I've digested it a bit more.
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