Wednesday, December 4, 2013

Consultation plus a vet trip

So actually meant to post this a few weeks ago, but of course I failed to do that(So I'm posting from memory here :P). At any rate Karma had her Consult back on the 23rd I believe. Initially I left Karma in the car and went in to chat with the trainer. We had a pretty good discussion and discussed the issues I was having with beaners and goals for the future etc. Of course after all the boring stuff it was time to bring in the beast...

When we first walked in you could tell she was a bit worried about where she was, but recovered quickly once she realized there were awesome people there that would let her love on them. She did really well and from what I saw was able to contain her self more so than usual. After I brought her in we talked a bit more and then the trainer decided to dog test her to see her reaction. So they brought out life sized stuffed rottie and placed it on the opposite side of the room. At first I don't think Karma noticed, but once she did she completely froze and just stared. And she held that stare for a good while. After a bit she finally looked away and offered some calming signals(Sniffing, shaking off, turning away etc). At that point I moved closer and again she stared, but her stare did not last quite as long and eventually I was told to drop the leash and let her go.

She ended up giving the "dog" space and made a wide arc around and walked up and sniffed and eventually started trying to relax and try to play. Of course once the dog was being taken away(being carried off) she decided that it turned into a toy and tried nipping and trying to grab it out of the helpers hands. Even after mister stuffed dog was put up she was still focused on it and tried to find it...

After that an actual dog came into the facility and since the dog was a pretty good "tester" dog they used her and Karma got to work with an actual dog. Basically we were across the room from each other and did some LAT and reorienting type stuff. And she did pretty well she also worked awesomely for the trainer when she took the leash! She got plenty of breaks(taken to a corner where she couldn't see the dog) and I was also able to get her to some what "relax" and do some tricks etc. Eventually the trainer decided to see how she would react without me there so I walked out and of course she completely ignores the other dog/people in the room and is completely focused on the fact that I was not there and she needed to find me *sigh* So I came back in and she was all "OMGZ never leave me again"
 
After our little training experiences the trainer noticed is that she isn't necessarily reactive. It's more leash frustration coupled with a little bit of fear/anxiety/confusion and not to sure how to react to the other dog or how the other dog will react. Which makes sense as she's never really lounged at another dog when were out and about. She just freezes and stares and if the other dog reacts first then she will in turn react(growling, barking, lunging etc).

So now it's up to how I want to continue working with her. I've got a few options to choose from. Basically there's day training where I leave her for the day and they work with her etc. Now I think it'd be great for her to have somewhere to go during the day and be able to get some training in while I work, but I also don't like the idea of leaving her for training as I like to be a part of it and I've heard so many horror stories, but this lady is 100% +R and I actually have a friend who interns for her and would be there during the day as well so...

Other option is continuing with private 1 on 1 lessons. And thirdly a few more private lessons to prep her for a reactive dog class. So right now I'm still deciding on what to do. I think she would benefit from the reactive dog class so I think that's what we'll likely go with. She also said I can bring her out and just work with her there and even try some nose work or barn hunt! So that will probably also happen in the near future!
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And Abby also had yet another vet trip(third one in a month I believe), but this time we just went in to get her stitches taken out and now my baby girl is officially perfect! Baby dog will hopefully be back to agility soon and I'm super excited to start back up with her! We've got plans for a New Years trial so here's to hoping I can actually attend!

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