Progress!

The last couple days I've stayed home enjoying poor health. Each day I took Trigger for a couple of walks around the neighborhood. On today's walks he was pretty nonchalant towards other dogs barking at him. This morning a huge German Shepherd was barking at him through a wire gate and Trigger didn't give him more than a glance as we went by.
This afternoon we met a huge Golden Retriever puppy that was more than twice his size. Trigger was initially wagging his tail and sniffing him. He did start a growl when the puppy was trying to meet me. I told Trigger "Gentle/Easy/Enough" etc. and he sat down and turned his back to the other dog.
I think that's fine since my goal is to have him ignore other dogs and that is what he decided to do.

More Socialization....

Socializing Trigger continues to be our top priority. He is fearful of big dogs at first and needs time and encouragement to relax around them. Today's pictures show Trigger wrestling with Panzer, a German Shepherd puppy. Trigger's first reaction to Panzer was a hard stare/growl/snark, but after a quick NO! and then some encouragement to relax, he was soon playing high speed tunnel games with him and a bunch of other rambunctious puppies.

We are fortunate to have so many puppy classes and puppy socials available to us in the area. We've met several really good trainers who have been very encouraging about our progress.

My goal is to be able to bring Trigger anywhere and not have him worry about other dogs he may encounter. I want him to be confident enough that he can ignore other dogs.

Coyote Hills Park

So much learning for the little man! We've taken alot of walks now that he is considered to be parvo safe. Each walk is full of challenges to be overcome. Dogs barking behind fences, cars whizzing by, horns honking, children screaming, hammers pounding, stairs to be walked. Trigger needs time to observe and process each new challenge but then, with encouragement, has been able to rise to each new situation and learn how to handle it.
Instead of letting him pull me about, I am trying to follow Cesar Millan's suggestion of having the dog walk slightly behind me and to my side so that he knows that I am the leader and that I will make the decisions and keep him safe. I stay very aware of my posture and keep my spine nice and straight so that he knows I am in charge and confident.
He did really well today when I took him down to the school for his first walk of the day. He is definitely feeling much better about seeing new dogs. This is a big change for him as on his first walks he was very concerned and frightened when he would see another dog.
Exercise, discipline and then affection is what Cesar preaches. Don't encourage the unsteady state of mind. Wait until the dog is balanced and his tail is up and then give him lots of affection. This is working well for Trigger. Sometimes when he is scared he drops to a down and tucks his tail underneath him. The following may very well sound silly, but here is what I did and it seemed to make a difference. I pulled his tail out from underneath his body into an extended position which demonstrated confident body language. (something Cesar has demonstrated on his show) Trigger seemed to calm and become confident more quickly when his body was mirroring this more self-confident posture.
On another note I received an email from the mom of one of Trigger's brothers. Tracy, who lives in Utah, has Killy who is now 19 pounds and wonders how much bigger he will get. I wrote her back that Trigger is now 28 pounds!! That should make her feel a lot better! Just don't tell my husband Randy, as I've been telling him that Trigger is an "average-sized" BC boy!

16 Week Progress Report

Trigger is 4 months old today. It's time to reassess how well he is learning his house manners and socialization.
The obedience commands are of secondary concern to me at this point as it will take time for Trigger to develop enough focus to really become quick and fluent in his responses.
House Manners:
We hung a Poochie Bell from the doorknob at the back door (available from www.helpingudders.com). He is great about giving it a little jingle when he wants or needs to go out. He is now very consistent about pottying in the dirt areas and not on the lawn and will do it unsupervised. This has made all those nights standing outside in the rain with a flashlight chanting "potty, go potty!" worthwhile.
We disposed of his litterbox a few days ago. I got tired of finding pine shavings covering his pen and bed like a winter snowfall. He's old enough to hold it 5 or 6 hours now, so I let him out about midnight and then get up between 5 and 6 am to let him out again. Thus far, he's done just fine and not had any accidents.
He's stayed out of the garbage except for occasionally running by and nipping out a napkin or coffee filter. I don't have a garbage can with a lid because I want him to respect boundaries and not have to keep the garbage out of his reach. This has worked out fine with Gladys, but she is considerably shorter than he is and I suppose less confronted with temptation.
Chewing has been primarily confined to appropriate chew toys and treats. He has destroyed numerous paper towels and put some tooth marks on the legs of the old couch out in the den. I will refrain from getting too smug as he has officially began teething and kicked it off by losing his first little baby tooth this morning. (bottom front tooth, but still has a lovely smile!)
He plays very gently with Gladys and they share their chew toys, water, kibble, etc. with no problems.
Trigger has a nice "wait" at the back door and will wait for a release to go inside or outside the house. His recall needs plenty more work and I need to get out the long line and go to the park to work on this. Dremmels, grooming and baths are no problem.
Socialization:
Lots of progress has been made in this area. He is definitely a people person and loves to kiss new people and children he meets. He is still very careful when he meets new groups of dogs but after awhile finds a few that he is comfortable with and plays well with them. No signs of aggression when he meets new dogs. Still adores little dogs and is extra gentle with the tiny ones.

The Invalid and her Admirer..

The Princess enjoying her ill-health...











Do you like my rawhide?











Yummmmm......

so tasty....

More pics of Trigger and Aston @ Planet Pooch..

Trigger and Aston mixing it up!

Trigger is very good with the tiny dogs. He gets down on his belly to touch noses and lick little maltese and pomeranian puppies. He was able to get some quality time in at the end of the session with his favorite golden retriever and flat back retriever puppies. When there are too many puppies crammed together he tends to hang back a bit and just run in for brief interactions. When most of the puppies had left he was able to get in some real wrasslin' with his bigger buddies.

Planet Pooch Puppy Play Session

Trigger and his little 6 pound Boston Terrier friend Aston had a great time playing together today. Trigger particularly loves the tunnel and periodically would disappear inside and roll it around the room, sometimes with another little dog inside!

*Gladys Update

To all of Gladys' friends:
Gladys underwent a spay procedure today. I was pretty scared in the operating room at one point when her oxygen saturation and heart rate began to plummet. She required two injections of atropine to bring her vitals back up. Her recovery room progress was a little slow as she was a bit hypothermic after the procedure. She did however manage to make a lot of friends while she was there. ;-) She was especially delighted when her daddy made a surprise visit to check on her in the recovery room.
She's home now and seems to finally be resting comfortably. She was very restless for the first several hours after the procedure but seems to be settled down now. (gums are pink!)
Trigger is for the most part keeping himself quietly amused with his toys. They were very happy to see each other tonight and exchanged a couple little nose kisses.
Sorry, no pics tonight as we are all 'zausted!