Bring to Class

five treats (hot dogs, cheese, chicken, beef, treats)
one lure food (liver biscotti)
harness/collar/leash
water/water bowl
duck, tuffie ring, Kong tug, stuffed Kong Saucer with hot dogs, Kong ball treater was stuffed with slices of apples
I wasn't sure if the treats and toys would be to Moped's liking since Skooter paid no attention to his toys/project toys when we were breaking during training. He seemed to like his treats okay, but I was concerned about how distracted Skooter was and how Moped will react in the same situation. Would Moped be distracted, would he ignore his toys/project toys, would he turn his nose up at the treats I bring? I'm quite anxious about Moped's behavior. He's such a wild child at home. I'm afraid he'll try to run amock during class. Guess I'll just have to wait and see.

Door Program #2

* Sit (when repositioning do not give a treat)
* Wait/Good wait (turn around and walk to the door), do this gradually and always tell them 'good wait' when they have done so.
* Break - let them relax for a few minutes before getting back into the training session
* Game Over - say this when the training session is done
* Jackpot - when they get the behavior (letting me answer the door while they wait) they get a handful of treats
* Scatter food on the floor to keep their four paws on the floor and to prevent them from jumping up
Skooter and Moped did okay in training today. They performed better for Misty (the trainer) than they did for me. I learned a lot from watching her do the behavior with them. I was going too slow, not treating fast enough and not giving them a 'jackpot' if they did the behavior. I also was not practicing with the doorbell ringing (I was training solo most of the time). When Skooter waits, he sits. When Moped waits, he goes flat. Moped can wait until I get to the door but once the door is opened, he pops up to see who's coming in. Skooter has more patience and is able to wait longer than Moped. Progress is slow, but there is progress. They are learning. I am proud of them.

Parenting Canines, Neutering and You Are What You Eat handout

"A good leader, or parent, is an individual with high levls of patience, tolerance, and self-control who assumes responsibility for the family."
"Consistency and communication are the keys."
How to Parent a Canine
"Leaders must provide food, shelter and protection, and oversee all the comings and goings of it's members."
"...the need for food, shelter, love and the need to continue the species. By controlling these things, you make it clear to your dog that you are in charge, and that you make the rules."
Control #1: Food
"You decide when meal time happens, and what your canines eat."
"...canine parents control food."
The Rules for Food Control
* Have set meals for your dog
* Work for the food they eat
* They need to eat when I'm present
* Leaders choose who eats and when
* 'Share a meal' with your dog
* Don't let the dogs tell you when it's time to eat
* It is actually better for mealtimes to happen within about a three hour time window
* All food belongs to leaders
* Set time limits
Hand Feeding
"Hand feeding is an integral part of creating family." (hand feed for six months)
Control #2: Sleeping
"Ideally, your dog should sleep in the bedroom, but not on your bed."
"...put them on tie down to keep them near your bed."
It's Your House
"One of the easiest ways to take over your dog's spot is to call him out of it."
Control #3: Contact and Games
"...you must control the contact you have with your dog."
"Dogs must learn that you are not at their beck and call."
"Dogs may NOT initiate contact with you."
"Always end the contact..." (game over)
"...you decide when he receives your lavish attention, and when he must be patient and wait."
Control #4: Breeding
both dogs are now neutered
Neutering
"There are two ways of neutering a male dog: 1. castration and 2. vasectomy
All our pets are spayed or neutered.
You Are What You Eat
"A dog that's eating a healthy diet will have a soft, shiny coat, clear eyes, strong teeth and bones, good muscle tone and plenty of energy."
"Dogs are carnivores and therefore the majority of their diet (about 80%) should consist of animal products, primarily meat and bones."
"Treats: We do not recommend giving your dog fruits and vegatables at the same time. Do not feed your dog corn, tomatoes or onions. We highly recommend feeding raw, meaty bones on a regular basis. Do NOT feed cooked bones. Feed raw bones as a between meals snack, or as a project toy. Do NOT feed raw bones at the same time your dog is eating dog food."

Tie down

When Moped is on tie down he barks, whines, scratches the furniture, tries to get attention from me, pulls on the tie down sometiems getting his collar off and he jumps up on the couch (he's tied down to the couch leg). Once he quieted down, I made him a Kong treat and gave it to him. He was quiet while he had his Kong treat He then started to bark and whine.. When let off tie down, he ran around the house grabbing stuff and playing keep away. He whined when I put him in his kennel until I put the blanket over him.
When Skooter is on tie down he whines to get Moped's treats, but otherwise he is usually quiet on tie down. He started barking because he wanted Moped's treats. He woldn't get in his kennel even though he had a raw bone and treats in the kennel. Eventually I was able to kennel him.

Instructor: Ruth (same as Skooter's instructor)
We went over the CSABR&T Fact Sheet, Orientation Packet, Rules for Relationship Based Training, The Natural Laws of Behavior
Tools for RBT: 'are you ready', 'take a break', 'flat', 'game over'
Don't feed them before class
Bring five different treats (hot dogs, cheese, training treats)
Introduce human food slowly
Puppy Foundation (1st class with Skooter)
* Sit *Flat * Gotcha * Meeting new dogs (approach from the side)
Foundation Course Week 2 handout
Practice 'sit', 'flat', 'gotcha'
Read: Parenting Canines (already read it for Skooter's class), Neutering, You Are What You Eat
For next week: read handouts, bring in dog food label
Skooter just didn't do too well. He knows 'sit' and 'flat' but was so distracted in class that he didn't do much of anything. He whined when we walked around to meet the other dogs. He was the only dog who did that. I felt totally unprepared and rushed. It was chaotic for me and I think it was chaotic for Skooter.

What to bring to class

harness, leash, treats, water bowl, tug, duck, Kong, tug-a-jug, treat bag, folder, water

Toys and chews

Chew toys: blue and white bone, green and white bones, white bones, plush toys, tug balls
Project toys: raw bones, pigs ears, cow ears, tug-a-jug, multiple Kongs toys, Buster cubes, cow hooves, meaty bones biscuits
'Our toys': fetch ball, tug rope
They are less interested in what they have and more interested in what the other dog has (just like kids). I have a lot of toys, but not a lot that they are really interested in. I guess it will be trial and error as to what they will play with.

Goals

1. obedience
2. have the dogs out of the kennels while supervised
3. have the dogs NOT on tie down when out of kennel in the house
4. no jumping on us, no scratching
5. not bored
6. walk without pulling
7. to be able to take them in the car safely
8. obedience in public, stores, outside the house
9. no mouthing
10. sleep on the floor in the bedroom with the cats
11. stop chasing the cats

Parenting Canines handout

I read this handout and had these questions:
Do they have to be feed out of two different bowls? (no)
How do we keep them from chewing while we're asleep (chew toys, project toys, etc.)? (use a taste deterrent)
I can see how we are reinforcing negative behaviors. (ignore unwanted behaviors)
Notes: Moped is being neutered on 1/24/07, 9am, a vasectomy, not castration

Door Program #1

Using treats:
* Find your spot
* Sit
* Wait
* Break
* Find your spot (do not re-treat if they move)
* Sit (do not re-treat if they get up)
* Wait
* Game Over (session done)
Goals:
1. sit when someone comes tothe door
2. sit before going out, coming in
3. no bolting out the door
4. no jumping on people
5. let us know when they need to go out (besides whining)
Misty answered the questions I had:
They should have something to chew on at night.
Don't worry about keeping them off the furniture for now (choose your battles)
Redirect them when they are doing behaviors that need to stop.
Have as many toys/project toys available as possible, at all times.
Skooter was afraid of Misty. He sat, shook and cowered. She gave him lots of treats to get him comfortable. She wasn't sure if we'd be able to do any training. She might have to spend the time getting Skooter used to her. Thankfully, Skooter came around pretty quick and we were able to start the door program (listed above). They did okay for their first training session, especially Moped. Misty said it was a lot slower progress than with other dogs, but that was okay. I was anxious about how it went, but overall I was happy.

Journal

Got up before the dogs started whining to let them out. Moped generally whines, scratches on his kennel and chirps. Skooter just whines. When Moped is let out of his kennel or back in the house, he runs through the house, jumping on furniture, grabbing things in his mouth. When Skooter is let out of his kennel or back in the house, he jumps up on me and sometimes ' mouths' me. When I put my hands near Moped he tends to bite, pull away or roll over. Skooter doesn't like to be touched on the chest, legs or feet.
Moped chewed through two harnesses! :-(
Skooter barked and growled at Moped to put him in his place. Moped put his tail between his legs, sat back and watched Skooter and stayed flat for quite a while. He had never responded like that before.
Skooter has kennel issues. He won't go in the kennel without treats and lots of coaxing. It can take minutes to get him in there. Moped will go in his kennel to get treats; usually he won't go in when told to Skooter ignores commands and won't make eye contact, he walks away and goes flat. Moped is always grabbing something he shouldn't and plays 'keep away' with it. He likes to be chased too.
The hand feeding is going well. Moped does great; Skooter is finicky.
When outside Moped wil bark when Skooter jumps the fence and leaves the yard. When on tie down he pulls a lot, gets out of his collar and fusses. Skooter doesn't fuss when on tie down. When Skooter and Moped are inside off the tie down they both will jump up on me, 'mouth' me, scratch and run around. They also play fight almost all of the time they are together. Skooter will not move when called, will sit flat, will not move even when nudged, and he looks away. When they want to come in from outisde, they jump on the sliding door and will not sit and wait.
Both dogs are aggressive chewers (because they are bored). Moped has chewed on the deck, the bed, the tie down, etc. even when he has toys/project toys available.
At night should they have something to chew on?
How do we keep them off the furniture?
What do we do when they are doing a behavior that has to stop (chewing on the furniture)?
What do we do about whining (attention vs. needing to go to the bathroom)?
How many toys/project toys should they have around at all times?
I'll ask Misty these questions when we meet.

Orientation class for Skooter - Homework

I went to the orientation class for Skooter. There were four other dog owners there. The instructor is Ruth and her assistant is Kristi. We went over the Orientation Packet (what to bring to class, etc.). I gave Kristi Skooter's vet records. Ruth told us to get the dogs vaccinated for kennel cough (bortadella). We talked about the two 15 minute private sessions.
We will say 'flat' instead 'down'.
We will say 'wait' instead of 'stay'.
Give a command, tell them 'break' to end the command momentarily and say 'game over' to end the session with them.
There will be homework and quizzes.
There is a 'Treat Test' sheet to fill out.
Bring the folder they handed out every week.
Read the new handouts for next week: 'Rules for Relationship Based Training' and CSABR&T Fact Sheet
I'm still anxious about how Skooter will be in class. I know we're there for training and he's not suppose to know everything, but I'm such a perfectionist. Oh well, I'm sure things will go okay.

Homework

I read the handouts that we got in the Orientation Class:
Rules for Relationship Based Training & CSABR&T Fact Sheet
What stuck out for me while reading was:
Do not reward or punish undesireable behaviors.
Be consistent.
Give a cue only once.
'No' isn't a cue
I also filled out the 'Treat Test' form. Filling out this form makes me realize that I don't know my dog as well as I thought I did. :-) Here are the questions:
1. List 5 things your pet likes to play with
2. List 5 different activities that your pet would indulge in if given a free choice
3. Who does your pet spend the majority of his time playing with
4. List 5 places in order or your pet's preference that he would want to to with you
5. Which type of physical contact does your pet enjoy the most - in order of preference
6. List the 5 things that excite your pet the most
7. Favorite game; Favorite toy
8. What are your pet's favorite places to be touched
9. List your pet's 5 favorite foods, in order of preference
I had a difficult time filling out this form. I didn't really know the answers to all the questions. Hadn't thought of them before and now that I am, I don't have all the information I need. I filled it out though to the best of my ability but I think I put stuff down that I really didn't know about. I think I will find out as I go along what Skooter really likes and dislikes.

Foundation Course - Orientation (without Skooter)

This is the orientation class for the Foundation Course that Skooter will attend. There will be eight classes total including the orientation (#1) and the graduation (#8). The classes are one hour long. We get two 15 minute private sessions during the eight week period. They can be used together or separately. I have to bring Skooter's vet records to the orientation. He is up to date on all his shots. I arranged for Skooter and Moped to get the Bordatella vaccination prior to thier first classes. I also had Moped neutered and microchipped.
Things to bring to class:
Collar, Harness or Gentle Leader
Six Foot Lead
Five dog treats (hot dogs, cheese, training treats, pepperoni, chicken
Water bowl
Toys and Project Toys
I started gathering together all the thing that I will need for the first class that Skooter attends. I'm anxious about the class wondering how Skooter will behave. He's not trained very well and I'm afraid I'll have the least trained dog in the class. I feel like that is a reflection on me as an owner. It doesn't feel good.

Homework

I read:
Parenting Canines, Playing to Learn, Chewing, Toys, Potty Training and Communication handouts
I started journaling.
I'm feeding the dogs 2x/day by hand. It is going remarkably well. I didn't think they would eat out of my hand, but they do it with ease.
We had them sleep on the tie down in the bedroom for one night. Moped was chewing on the boxspring and we don't have any taste deterrent that he responds to so we put them back in their kennels for sleeping at night.
I'm trying to remember that I am in control and I need to start and end all contact, games and playing. It's hard to change behavior that is so ingrained.
I have about 30 toys/project toys for them to chew on and play with. They don't seem interested in most of them the majority of the time. That is distressing.
Moped is getting some free time, but only minutes at a time. He ends up stealing stuff off the end table (the tv remote is his favorite item) and jumping on all the furniture or grabbing things off the kitchen counter. Sometimes I wonder if there is any hope that he will calm down. I remember feeling that way about Skooter and he has calmed down. Moped is only 7 months old and so he is just a puppy. I need to give him some time.

Foundation Course - 1st class with Skooter

1. Read 'Parenting Canines': feed 2x/day with a 3 hour window, they have 5 minutes to decide to eat, 15 minutes total, if they decide not to eat, remove their bowl
2. Hand feed them for the next six months. Feed Skooter first. Switch off between Skooter and Moped (one handful at a time)
3. Try to get them to sleep on a tie down in the bedroom. Completely ignore them if they protest being tied down. Do not respond in any way, positive or negative.
4. Contact and Games: We initiate and end all contact and games played. Wait at least five minutes after they try to initiate before paying attention to them. Completely ignore unwanted behavior.
5. Read: 'Playing to Learn': play no game unless you can control it; we start and end all games. Have 'their toys' (chews and project toys) and 'our toys' (tug rope, fetch ball)
6. Read 'Chewing': praise, praise, praise for chewing on appropriate items; use deterrent to prevent chewing on collars and leashes
7. Toys: lots of toys all the time
8. Moped: let him out in the morning, if he's wild, put him on tie down, if he is calm when he comes in he gets free time (as long as he behaves)
9. Read 'Communication': dog language; keep a journal of body language we see (do the journal for at least 2 weeks); note reactions to new rules, any questions we may have, any problems that may arise, how Moped is increasing on free time

Behavioral Evaluation at All Breed

Today we brought Skooter and Moped in to get a behavior evaluation done. One of the things they check for is if the dog is agressive. Neither of our dogs were labeled aggressive. Here's the plan Lauren came up with:
Counseling #1: Humans only. Discuss: Parenting Canines, Communication, Toys and Playing to Learn handouts; start journaling dogs behavior
Counseling #2: Humans only. Discuss journal to date, Handling and Grooming and jumping up on people
Puppy Elementary for Moped
Foundation Course for Skooter
Home training:
Door Program; 4 visits, 1x/week
Boundaries and Digging: 1x
Meet with Misty for first counseling session on 1/16/07