Quiet day

I hesitate to blog about this for fear that I will jinx it but Harley hasn't bit me once today. And it's 3pm! I'm not sure what's going on but he hasn't tried biting me at all. He's either been outside or laying down inside. What a peaceful day this has been.

I got an email from Dr. J and she is going to call me this afternoon. I've gone back through the paperwork she sent me and reread the handouts on Separation Anxiety and Changing Attention Seeking Behavior. I think that I have been trying to do too much with Harley at one time. I need to focus on just a few things and not overwhelm him or me. Until I can get him to behave the majority of the time it's pointless to try to get him to do the Sit-Stay Program or to try to take him for walks. I want to work on getting him to relax and to understand that he will not get what he wants until I am ready to give it to him and he will have to do something to get it (sit-stay, down-stay).

It's so strange to have him acting like a regular dog today. I don't know what to make of it.

I'm looking forward to talking to Dr. J. I want to talk to her about doing too many things at one time (which I believe has been my mistake not her telling me to do that). I get anxious to get things going and I tend to jump in with both feet without looking when it comes to a project. And Harley is a project. So I think I've put too much on me and Harley and I need to slow down now and start from the beginning. This past week I haven't done anything with Harley because I was so frustrated with him biting me and going after me. The only thing I did was tether him when he was in the house and not in his kennel. The weather has been nice so he's been outside a lot. He hasn't been tethered 24/7. I haven't had to tether him at all today. Maybe the Prozac is starting to work. Who knows? I'm just grateful to not have to fend him off all day long. The biting is annoying but just having to keep him away from me all the time is so time consuming and frustrating.

There are so many things I'd like to be able to do without Harley interfering (reading, playing on the laptop, emptying or filling the dishwasher, doing laundry, cooking, etc.). I want to be able to get to a point with him that I tell him to stay and he does until I release him. I'm going to have to ask Dr. J what exactly I should be doing and in what order should I be doing it. I know some things have to be done concurrently but I don't think I'm supposed to be doing it all right now. Or if I am, it's not working and I need to come up with a new plan of attack.

The things I'd like to work on are 1. Separation Anxiety 2. Changing Attention Seeking Behavior 3. Relaxation and 4. working to get the gentle leader on him. That only will keep us very busy. I don't want to feel like every waking moment of my life is centered on Harley. I know I have to put in the time and effort to make changes but I feel like I have given up my life completely for him. That's not completely Harley's fault either. He is an attention seeker but I think I just pay too much attention to him making the situation worse than it could be.

Harley has been tearing apart our bushes in the back yard. He's dragged pieces of them all over the yard. His digging is quite noticeable along the fence. If he finds anything he can tear up, he does. And he stole another toy from the dogs behind us. It must have been right up by the fence and he was able to get under the fence and pilfer it. I'm going to have to give some of Harley's toys that he can't play with to them.

I know that part of our problem is that we aren't in any kind of a routine but with the advent of classes starting in June I'll need to start getting into a routine now so I'll be prepared by the time I start school. Part of that routine will have to involve walking and training with Harley. I know that every moment is an opportunity to train but I'm talking about specific training sessions. I think that both Harley and I will benefit from a routine.

I can't believe he is still sleeping. This is so unusual. But nice.

I've decided that I'm going to work with Harley for the month of April and if I don't see any progress then I'm going to find someone to take him. I'm not expecting miracles but I do expect things to change somehow during the next month. I think I'm being realistic (if I'm not, I'm sure someone will tell me). The Prozac will have had time to take effect, we'll be on a routine for a month and we should be able to start walking again. All of those things should make a noticeable difference in Harley. I still have hope that I'll be able to take him up to Palmer Park for walks and to Lisa's and Marianne's for visits. I also think that he'll be able to get along with other dogs and not play so rough. I know this will all take time but if I don't see some forward progress in the next month I am going to let him go.

I know that I have to make a complete commitment to this again and not give up just because it's time consuming and difficult. Things should also be easier with the nice weather coming. I'll be able to get him out more walking and he'll want to be out in the yard more too. I feel bad that I had given up on Harley this past week but I'm not going to clobber myself over the head about it. I'm going to just start from today and do my best. I know that Harley has it in him to be a great dog. I just have to figure out how to draw that out of him. I guess he'll have to "figure out" how to draw it out of me too.