We had a good day on Friday

I had a good day with Harley Friday. It's not because he didn't jump up on me or because he didn't bite me, because he did both. No, it's because he actually dropped things a couple of times to do an exchange for a higher value treat (whether it was food or a toy). I was actually able to keep him busy with toys and bison bones so I could get some math work done. It felt like a little glimpse into what could be. I went out twice Friday (once to do errands and once to get dinner) and he saw me get my shoes and he didn't pitch a fit. Do you think that he finally is getting it that I'll be coming back? He did whine when I got home. He wanted out of his kennel to say "hi" to me (read: jumping up and biting my shoes) but I let him sit in there for a bit so he'd settle down and he did. I try to get him to get something out of his kennel to carry with him so his mouth is full and distracted from me. So far it's been working. If I take away his opportunity to be mouthy then he's not mouthy. He's still excited but I don't reward that behavior. I wait until he calms down and sits or does down before I give him any attention. I want him to know that calm behavior gets him what he wants.

I've been having Harley sit inside the door when he's coming in from outside. I'm trying to make it clear to him that he has to settle before he can go into my house. He's been doing pretty good with that. It seems that the sit breaks the connection for Harley and he's able to let go of the excited feeling a bit easier. Whenever he is doing something we don't want him to do, instead of saying no, down, off, etc. we ask him to sit or down. We give him something to do instead of what not to do. He can easily give a sit but it's harder for him to stop doing an unwanted behavior just because we want him to. He responds better to having an alternative behavior to do.

I'm still in touch with Diane from Best Friends/Dog Town. She has a female retriever mix named Dakini who is a lot like Harley energy wise. We've been swapping stories and she has been giving me lots of good advice, links and handouts. Yesterday it was funny because I was watching Dog Town and got an email from Diane at the same time. That was kind of cool. She sent me a picture of Dakini. I will post it once I have permission to do that. It's great being in touch with Diane because she's so knowledgeable and has so many resources. I'm grateful that she takes the time to email me and ask about Harley.

I returned the DAP diffuser and ordered a DAP collar instead. I'm anxious to get it to see if it has a calming effect on Harley. I think I should get the collar by Monday (although I'm hoping it will get here today). Everything else has arrived and I'm making use of it in my training with Harley. Except for the 2 new leashes. It was in the 20's Friday with blowing snow so I didn't take Harley out. Instead we played fetch in the house (thank goodness for our long hallway). He went out quite a few times though and ran around the yard and said hello to Zeus and Freckles who live behind us. He was always coming in with a snout full of snow. It was cute.

Harley loves having his bison bones again and he loves the bison jerky treats that T. Rex and Lula Bear send to him. He always has to be chewing. I'm trying to work with him so that he can realize that he can relax without chewing but since chewing calms him down and relaxes him I don't take anything away from him if it's settling him down.

I was feeling a bit overwhelmed by all the handouts from Dr. J. I felt like there was so much that I had to be doing with Harley right now. Then I realized that this is about taking baby steps with Harley not winning any kind of contest for getting through it the quickest. I can take as long as Harley needs to be successful at modifying his behavior. The handouts are there to help me. I appreciate Dr. J taking the time to gather all the information and email it to me. We're going to start getting into a better routine beginning today. It was kind of a crazy week with no schedule at all for me or Harley so I'm looking forward to getting back on track with him especially now that I have so much awesome information to use. Being on a schedule can only help Harley and me. So I'm going to take some time this morning to re-read the case report and go from there. I want Harley to be successful. I don't want him to feel like he has to perform like a circus animal.

I looked at the book I got, 101 Tricks for Dogs, and it starts out with having them sit, down, stay and come. It dovetails nicely into where we are with Harley. I want to keep things fun for him so teaching him a new trick every once in a while will be great. He's so smart that I know that he can do just about anything once he puts his mind to it. I'm sure hoping that the Prozac will make a difference too. If it can just take the edge off of his excitement level, I think it would help us out more with the training. I don't expect to see any changes in him though until the end of the month.

Well, it's 4:15am. I'm updating the Dog Blog and Harley is in his kennel asleep. I think I need to take my cue from him and go back to bed so we can get started on our day together later this morning. I am so grateful that Harley sleeps through the night and doesn't get up until after 7am, sometimes even 8am. He's a good boy when he's sleeping. LOL