Control Unleashed - The Dog's Idea

Well, well!

I'll skip any forced introduction along the lines of "wow, I haven't written on here in nearly two years." Instead, I'll jump right in to it and say that I attended a Control Unleashed seminar at my dog club this past weekend.

Those of you who may still be reading this blog and were around in the beginning know that Control Unleashed exercises played some role in Marge's behavior modification training back in the day.  Most notably, I remember playing the "Look at That!" game when Marge would go absolutely nuts watching dogs, particularly bigger dogs, zip around at the agility field.

I got to recount this with Leslie McDevitt herself, which was super cool - especially since I had Marge on-leash next to me, who had little interest in or concern for the environment around her, thanks in part to some of these games.

Anyway, it's been a long time since I picked up the book, and I mentioned that to Leslie.  I really thought that the seminar would be more of a refresher for me, a way for me to silently nod my head and recall my vague memories of reading and using sections of the book.  How silly of me. Leslie said that since the book came out, she's had a lot of time to think about things, and I guess amend the way that she teaches them.  She wasn't kidding, because the seminar was absolutely mind-blowingly good.

The premise of the entire seminar was teaching the dog to have a conversation with you about the environment, rather than focusing on the environment alone.

It started with the concept of teaching the dog to breathe. I was confused at first by the idea of literally watching a dogs' nose to see if they are taking breaths, but it actually makes a lot of sense.  To just breathe, a dog can't be jumping up all over, stress panting, barking, whining, or otherwise being raucous.  To be able to sit quietly and calmly, to be able to truly connect with the handler in a myriad of environments, is the foundation for everything else.  Drive, interest, excitement.. perhaps that should come later.

There was a recent blog post that circulated about the idea of dogs being stressed in competition settings. Marge herself likes agility and seems comfortable at trials, but can be barky right beefore entering the agility ring.   The gist was that although dogs may appear driven and may appear to love what they are doing (and maybe they do), is it possible that the screaming outside the ring, dilated pupils, nervous pawing, is actually not a good thing?

Based on this seminar, I'd think that the answer to that question is yes.  Seems obvious, but a dog that can't settle ("breathe") may become unglued more easily in a pressure-filled setting.

After that, the rest of the seminar basically consisted of versions of Leslie's games used to build patterns that reassure the dog and rewards that stimulate interest in the handler rather than the environment.  I won't get in to all of them here, but the one I found most amazing was a rendition of CU's "Give Me a Break" game.

One working participant was called in to the ring with her dog to act as a demo.  The participant happened to have her dog off-leash, figuring he'd follow her in to the ring. He didn't.  In fact, he went left, he went right, he sniffed.. he went everywhere OTHER than through the ring with his handler, even after being called.  Pure avoidance behavior.

This is something I've struggled with to an extent when I do things like Obedience and Rally with Marge.. although she gives me a good performance in everything she does, it sometimes feels like I'm dragging her around in those two activities, as opposed to agility, where she appears a lot more animated.

After seeing what I saw, I realized that we stand a good chance of raising the dogs' level of interest and comfort by using predictable patterns and making participation in the behavior "the dog's idea."

What Leslie did was bring this dog into the ring, fed him a bunch of treats, rewarded him for breathing, for calm eye contact.. and then slowly exited the ring.  Once she sat down for a break, the dog eventually looked back up at her.  At that exact moment, she took the dog back in to the ring, repeated the same process, and then left the ring again. The eye contact outside of the ring became the dog's cue for "MORE! MORE!"

The dog who was, at first, completely avoiding the ring was now voluntarily asking to be brought back in.  In the span of 5 minutes or so.  Entering the ring became his idea, on his terms, and his entire demeanor changed.

After a while, Leslie not only had the dog sit and breathe in the ring, but also added heeling and other obedience exercises slowly in to the mix before exiting.  The dog remained engaged.  The pattern was predictable, plenty of treats were had, and the dog was happy.

It's not a perfect system, since dogs can differentiate between practice settings and trials, but it is a start, and can be easily implemented at match shows.  Besides, forming the pattern itself (dog asks to be worked, we go in the ring, do stuff, and then go back to our chair) may be enough to make a dog more comfortable in a trial setting.

An upcoming goal that I have for Marge is to obtain her Companion Dog (CD) title.  She earned her UKC CD several years ago, but in a quest for Marge to be my Novice A Obedience dog, as she has been my Novice A Rally and Agility dog, I'd love to earn her AKC CD, too. If I put her in the ring tomorrow, she'd stand a decent chance of qualifying.  However, I've been hesitant to bring her out because of how different it is than agility.  Things like the presence of the judge and the lack of feedback from the handler may make it tougher for her.  Since a Q with an uncomfortable Marge would not make me happy, I've been very picky about deciding when to enter.

We have been practicing weekly or bi-weekly with decent success. However, after dabbling with the "Give Me a Break" game as explained above, I'm really excited to continue training and see where it leads us.

International Flair

As part of our prep for Westminster, I took Marge to a UKI Agility trial today in Bloomsbury, NJ.

UK Agility International was founded as the United States' version of UK Agility.  As such, it contains international-style handling challenges at the upper levels.

I have been doing quite a bit of out-of-my-comfort-zone handling at agility class (which basically means straying away from rear crosses and doing everything else), but I very seldom put those skills to use in AKC trials.  I totally admit to playing it safe for the sake of Q's and, more specifically, QQ's.  I want a MACH, and if I get a MACH with meat-and-potatoes type handling and never do anything fancy, I am totally okay with that.

So, in trying UKI, it removes the "run to Q" element.  I am not working on any titles in that venue at this point, and with numbers pointed in all kinds of crazy directions (backsides and wraps everywhere!), it sets the stage well to add in some fancy handling. And by fancy, really all I mean is doing anything but a rear cross.

If you look back at my list of things to work on that I posted last time, UKI had most of those challenges.. including a weave entrance to which Marge (and my body language, probably) said "HAHA, NOPE".   She took the 3/5 jump and 4 tunnel before coming back to weave.

As such, we did not Q in this run, but a couple of important things happened:

• I front crossed without making it in to something more than it needs to be (which is often the case)
• I used a Ketschker "ass pass" turn for the first time ever in a trial - TWICE!
• I learned that I need to work my dog's weave entrances better

We did qualify earlier in the day in the Speedstakes class, which is a straightforward, fun, fast course.  Those were the only two classes I entered.  I wanted to keep it short and fun.

From a behavioral perspective, Marge did very well at this trial.  When we first arrived, she had a mini meltdown because she had no idea where she was.  It probably didn't resemble an agility trial at all to her, since the ring was not visible from the crating/waiting area.  Heaters were fired up, too, and it took her a bit to get used to the noise.  Once it clicked that we were at an agility trial and not the 8th circle of hell, she settled in almost instantly.

After the trial, I headed to the barn to ride.  As I alluded to, Marge is becoming a little bit of a barn dog - at least as much as a Staten Island dog can be a barn dog.  No pics from this time around, but here's a pic of Marge hanging out with Te last time she came along with me.  She likes the horses, but maintains some distance. She likes their grain a lot more.

I'll probably do one more UKI trial sometime this month.  I'd like to go to an AKC show before Westminster, but I'm not sure it's going to happen.  I'm happy with our prep so far!

How MargeDog Did

I have to say that Marge was an absolute trooper during the confusion of Hurricane Sandy.  In fact, despite the fact that the storm was much more severe than Hurricane Irene, and much more tumultuous (leaving the house with the storm surge rushing up your block is certainly enough to set a fearful dog off) than anything Marge has ever experienced in my household, I was really surprised at how well behaved she was.

Contrary to popular belief, Marge was NOT a Katrina dog (she was born in 2007), so I'm not sure she's ever experienced anything like this before.

Marge definitely knew something was up in the day or so before the storm.  She had that nervous look about her and seemed to watch my movements closely.  However, even once the wind started to roar, she was relatively calm.  She enjoyed a few romps on the beach on Sunday and Monday and didn't appear nervous at all.

She did nearly have a heart attack when we threw her in my dad's hatchback car and she rode with me in the trunk as we escaped the high tide, but that's to be expected.  She settled down once we arrived at my grandma's dark house, though I kept her on a leash to be sure I knew where she was at all times.

Most importantly, once we returned home, she responded very favorably to the visitors coming and going from my house in the wake of the storm.  One neighbor who had her house completely destroyed stayed at my house for several hours, and Marge was nothing but hospitable towards her. (We did put her away when folks like the National Guard rang my doorbell, though, because I knew she wouldn't take kindly to men in uniform.  It's all about setting up for success.)

My friends stopped by to check on me, too, and she greeted them with only a few hackles and mostly swooping, happy tail wags.

The one thing that did make her really nervous was walking past the front-loaders that were taking garbage away from a nearby block.  But, she recovered quickly, and a few minutes later, ran some zoomies in a successful attempt to burn off the stress she just experienced.

So, she may not be perfect.. but she's pretty darn close!

Nerdy Fearful Dog Post

Something I've thought a lot about is the root of Marge's fears: whether they can be accounted for mainly by nature (biochemical imbalances, genetics) or nuture (bad early-life experiences or simply a lack of good ones).

Now, I know that neither of these are mutually exclusive, and that there is an awful lot of overlap.  But, it is well-known that there are dogs who aren't "wired right," no matter how uncommon extreme circumstances of this mis-wiring may be, and that there are dogs whose outward temperament is a product of their very bad life experiences and, should they have been raised correctly, they would not be fearful.

We can also throw a curveball in to this by saying that the reaction each dog has to its "nuture" is, in part, dictated by "nature:" that two dogs, of different genetic background, reared in the same negative environment, wouldn't necessarily both turn out to be fearful. Similarly, dogs of the same genetic background, reared in different environments, both won't necessarily turn out to be fearful.

In fact, that's where I really think the answer lies.

Have you ever heard of the diathesis-stress model?  No?

Okay.  Imagine a cup.. an ordinary plastic cup.  The cup is labeled "FEAR."  (Don't mind my crappy drawings.)

The cup is filled part of the way with the dog's genetic endowment.  In the case of fearfulness, a dog with a low genetic predisposition for being fearful would have only a tiny bit of their cup filled.  A dog with a high genetic predisposition for being fearful would have a LOT of their cup filled.

Now, for each environmental scenario that might push the dog more towards an over all fearful disposition, the cup gets more full.  Each "stress" added pushes the dog towards the top of the cup, towards the threshold (spilling over the cup = threshold = fearful dog).

Obviously, in a dog with a lot of genetic predisposition towards a fearful personality, it would not take a lot of different stressors to reach that point.  In a dog with a very small genetic predisposition towards fear, it would take an awful lot of those stressors - but, it is still possible, if the dog encounters very bad life experiences.

 The combinations are endless - for example, there will be dogs who, despite a large genetic predisposition towards fear,  never wind up with the fearful phenotype because they are raised in a relatively good environment.

I don't know how much of the theoretical "cup" is filled with each component - genetics and environment - in Marge's case.  Since I only know bits and pieces about her puppyhood and know zilch about her genetic background, aside from what her mom and siblings looked like, I don't know if her fears came more from a genetic predisposition or a shoddy upbringing.

Whatever the cause, there is something about Marge that has lead to a lot of her fears being reversible or at least partially reversible.  She is extremely responsive to classical conditioning, whereas a lot of other fearful dogs aren't.  That leads me to believe that it was her upbringing that caused her to be fearful, rather than a biological reason (which may have required medication to reverse).  But I might just be pulling that out of thin air.

What do you think?  How do you think a dog's outward behavior comes to be - from genetic endowment or environmental stimulation?

Shy Dog 101

A dog training dream of mine is to teach a class for fearful dogs.  Shy and fearful dogs are the dogs I'm drawn to work the most with when I'm teaching, and to have a class of 6 or so of them would be something I'd enjoy a lot.

There are very premature talks of a class like this eventually being offered.  If it is, indeed, offered, there are several people (to my surprise) that are interested in being involved in it.  Despite this, I've just as prematurely started to think about what the most important things to convey to a class of fearful dog handlers are if I was, indeed, to teach it.

1. Learn to think in terms of association, not rewards.
The distinction between classical and operant conditioning is, admittedly, something that is a bit hard to teach.  Most people (unknowingly) only think in operant terms when training their dog - "If my dog doesn't bark, I'll reward him" - even when the situation might be better suited to associative learning - type work.

I think the best way to teach this concept is to avoid any technical terms (classical, operant, reinforcement, conditioned response) and to delve right in to the bare minimum that a fearful dog owner should know - how to use desensitization and counterconditioning to change what the dog does, rather than reinforcing outright behaviors.

Getting handlers to think in terms of "loud noise = cookies" or "new stranger = playing with a toy," as well as being able to recognize that fear is not voluntary, would be monumental in the rehabilitation of dogs of this type.

2. Learn how to properly approach a shy dog.
Even those who OWN shy dogs bend over, reach their hands out and talk to the dog to try to get it to sniff them.  The reality is that this type of greeting is super scary to the dog - a big giant human hand is entering their space, maybe grabbing for them, and they just don't like the idea of that.

Much more beneficial is the idea of letting the shy dog approach on their own terms.  Standing or sitting still, not making eye contact and not outstretching their hands is a much more inviting posture for a dog who is afraid of being touched by someone they do not know.  As the comfort level increases, the new person can start to offer food, perhaps by throwing it on to the floor.

3. Learn how to stand up for what's best for a shy dog.
If a well-meaning but uninformed person approaches Marge looking to pet her, I have no problem body-blocking them and telling them NO if I do not feel Marge would be comfortable with that situation.  Unfortunately, this is something that takes a little while to get used to doing.  I can't tell you how many shy dog owners in my classes have allowed people to pet their dogs when the dogs are clearly not enjoying it.  In fact, I myself have had to stand up for these dogs and politely point out to both the offending party and the owner/handler that the dog is uncomfortable.

It would be awesome for shy dog handlers to learn that it is OK to say "no" to a friendly advance from a stranger.  By apologizing and saying that the dog is shy and learning how to comfortably be around people, it minimizes conflict and keeps the dog AND the person safe.

4. Learn about different aids and products that make the process a bit easier.
"I don't want her on pills." "I heard ____ product only works some of the time."  "I don't think she's THAT scared so I don't want to use it."  The excuses are many, but people seem very, very reluctant to add anything in to their training toolbox when it comes to alleviating some of a shy dog's anxiety.  While I do not think the decision to put a dog on medication should be taken lightly, I do think that it is helpful for shy dog owners to learn about medication as an option, should a situation ever arise where the dog needs to be medicated.

In terms of natural or non-invasive products, it is true that the results vary from dog to dog.  However, most of these products are cheap; some, like an anxiety/body wrap, can even be made from household items.  Sampling some of these and seeing how the dog responds would, again, be quite beneficial.  If the end goal is to have a happy, comfortable dog, what's wrong with speeding the process along?

On a similar note, it is also important for shy dog owners to know how veterinarians, behaviorists, and dog trainers can provide their services to help a shy dog get better.

5. Learn to be proactive.
There are certain things in the environment that you can't prepare for - you can't do much in advance about a crack of thunder or a child jumping out from behind a bush.  However, sometimes shy dog owners walk their dogs right in to not-so-good situations.  Walking in close proximity with crowds of people, particularly children, or taking the dog to the park on the 4th of July are, for example, not the greatest ideas, depending on what type of fears the dog has.

The same can be said for situations around the house - if the dog is afraid of strangers and you're expecting your neighbor (who, to top it off, refuses to leave the dog alone) to drop by, put the dog in the yard, or in another room, or in a crate, instead of "seeing how it goes."

Similarly, learning your dog's specific signs of anxiety can be useful in getting out of a situation before it spirals out of hand.

I hope that I get to put my knowledge and enthusiasm for working with fearful dogs in to motion.  I'd also like to hear from you.  Lots of my blogging buddies have fearful or shy dogs and I'm always looking for new ideas. What do you think should be covered in such a class?

Dad's Day

One thing I haven't blogged about at all lately is Marge's relationship with my father.  For the most part, my silence on this front means that nothing has changed.

We seem to have hit a plateau, for the time being, in terms of Marge's comfort level around my dad.    She has neither progressed nor regressed (thank goodness) significantly.  However, I don't think that's a bad thing... I actually think we're in a pretty good spot.

Through some sort of funky combination of both classical and operant conditioning, Marge now comes running to me 99% of the time when she hears the sound of the front door opening (recall that my father walking through the front door is one of her biggest triggers).  She'll generally lie either on the doormat behind my chair in the kitchen or, if we're in the basement, make her way to her crate.  Then, she gets treats as the door opens, my dad steps inside, and the door shuts.

Now, when he enters the room, her body language seems a bit more relaxed.  Generally, she gets up, takes a big stretch, wags her tail a bit, and then campaigns for treats from him.

My dad's behavior around her isn't perfect, but it does seem like he reaches out for her a lot less than he used to.  He still does make her bark when he asks for behaviors that she isn't wholly comfortable to perform.. but I suspect there's really nothing I can do about that.

Lately, I've noticed that when my dad is on the couch, either sitting or reclining, Marge will choose to go over to him to be petted - even to the point that I can't call her away from him.

Is there relationship perfect?  Nope.  But I think we're making it work as best as we can.  That's all I can do!

Bayshore Part 1: Slumber Party

Heaven got a new shining star yesterday, as Buddy was, indeed, sent to the bridge.  We'll miss him with all our heart and always remember how much fun we had with him.  Thank you all for the lovely comments about him.


What a weekend!  I'm exhausted and would really love to go to sleep right now, even though it's only 8 PM.  I figured I'd write a bit about our looong weekend.

Thursday
I spent the majority of Thursday afternoon packing for the following day's agility trial.  Usually, this activity is reserved for the late nighttime the day before a trial, but this trial was different.  We were leaving that night at 5:30 PM and, in addition to a crate and stinky treats, I needed a change of clothes, a blanket, and my toothbrush.

We were staying overnight in the park in my friend's travel trailer!

Although I was only entered Friday, my friend decided she wanted to take her "little house" down to the park the night before, since she needed to be at the park very early on Friday morning.

We arrived at her house around 5:30 on Thursday and set off to pick up the trailer shortly thereafter.

While the trailer was being hooked up, Marge was absolutely terrified.  There was little I could do about it, as she was crated in the back of the car and there was really no way I could get to her while they were hitching the thing up.  I began to be doubtful about whether or not she'd enjoy herself on our little overnight excursion because of how teeth-chattering scared she was.

Once we arrived at the park, I briefly let her offleash to RUN with other club members' dogs, including our travel companion, Golden Retriever Spirit.  She was completely wired after the ride in the car, and I knew that she needed to blow off some steam.  I leashed her again pretty quickly, but I was glad that she got to run a bit.

We set up her crate inside the trailer, on top of one of the beds (there really wasn't room elsewhere.  She probably didn't really need her crate since she is 100% comfortable with Spirit, but I felt better about having her crated, especially since she can resource guard towards other dogs.

I was even confident enough to leave her crated without me while my friend and I visited some other friends in their giant RV.  We had a great time talking about dogs and gossiping.   When we returned to the trailer, Marge was excited to see us, but didn't seem to be any worse for wear, so I guess she dealt OK.

We stayed up a while, Marge and Spirit play bowing to each other in the little bit of space.   It was weird to be in East Freehold Park at night, in a kind of nice way.  I love it there.

When it was time for bed, Marge willingly went back in her crate.  Spirit stayed loose and readily took the opportunity to slobber all over me during the night.  At one point, I woke up to see her laying flat on her side next to me, staring at me like a person would.  It was hysterical.

By about 5:30 AM, I couldn't sleep anymore.  Marge was tossing and turning in her crate and was starting to get upset about seeing people passing by the window.  It was also freezing; I would have closed the window, but my friend was asleep and I didn't want to wake her up.  We both got up a short while later, after the dogs told us by being wiggly that they had had enough of sleeping.

Marge and Spirit, trailer buddies

By 7:30 or so, the trial was beginning.  I went out to help with leash running in Excellent FAST while Marge hung out in the trailer for a bit more.  By about 12 PM, our first course was being built and we'd have to gear up for her run.

How did Marge fare in her first run after a night of sleeping in a strange place?  Come back tomorrow to find out.

When Love Is Not Enough

I have a ton of things to update about (including some AWESOME news - my cat gained a pound!), but one topic has been weighing on my mind a lot lately.

I have moved up the ranks rather quickly at my dog club.  I am back to assisting in the non-competitive agility class as well as occasionally helping out in puppy class.  Because of this, I see people from all different types of dog ownership backgrounds - those that know what they're doing, those that don't know what they're doing but want help, those that don't know what they're doing and don't want help.

Of course, it's the dogs with behavioral issues like fear, aggression and reactivity that catch my interest the most.  I admit to being a much better trainer of classical conditioning-based dog training techniques, probably because of the fact that I started out with a "damaged" adult dog who knew some basic behaviors but had emotional baggage rather than a puppy who needed to learn from scratch how to sit, down, and stay.

There are some students who I've given names of books or articles to so that they may continue to help their dog overcome their fears, anxieties or intolerances outside of the classroom.  Some have absolutely gobbled this information up - buying books, asking questions, practicing often.  One student yesterday was very excited to learn about dog body language and I was thrilled to give her the name of a book that I am familiar with. Others have wavered in their decision making, have not tried anything, and essentially allowed their dog to suffer, whether they believe they are doing so or not.

When dealing with a student having these kinds of issues, I always mention several different pathways for easing their dog's problems.  Medical tests to rule out chemical imbalances or pain issues.  Training techniques including the Relaxation Protocol, information about desensitization and counterconditioning.  Details about supplements that I am familiar with and have used successfully.  I never mention anything I am unsure about or unfamiliar with and I always stress to students that they should consult with their veterinarian before making any changes.

I am attempting to help one student right now who is totally opposed to any orally-ingested medication or supplementation and seems equally hesitant to try any sort of specific training protocol.  However, the doggy half of this team is clearly suffering in the class environment, and, from the sounds of it, in other environments (like on walks), too.

Suffice to say, none of my advice has been taken.  None of the aforementioned pathways have been explored appreciably. I was especially hoping that the dog would be brought in to the vet to rule medical causes for this sudden regression, but it doesn't look like that's going to happen.

Because I have a dog who has improved with the careful use of training, supplementation, and environmental management, I am, to say the least, frustrated by this lack of willingness to make changes and find the right "recipe."

The bottom line is that love is sometimes not enough.  Some dogs need a little something extra to enjoy life to the fullest.  It is unfortunate to me that not everyone realizes that.

Tuesday Training 44

Agility - And Lots of It
Our performance training has almost solely focused on agility for the past month or two.  Marge has improved in leaps and bounds.  I am still seeing start line stress, which I'm not happy about, but she's dynamite when she's on course.  More attentive than she ever has been.

For my next two trials, the plan will remain the same - very short lead outs.  If I don't lead out at all, it tends to make the run less structured for her because she doesn't understand the whole unclip-and-go start to a course.

Our first trial of the year is this Saturday - we're doing one run, JWW only.  This is because I really did not want the stress of running her in Standard for her first time at a trial in about 4 months (and at a brand new place on a brand new surface, to boot!).  The trial site is also quieter towards the end of the day, which I think will be good for her.  Our friend Spirit, the Golden Retriever, will be there, which I hope will make Marge happy.  This trial is a BIG deal for her.. and I really hope she likes the trial site.

A Bit of Barkiness
One thing that has cropped up to a very small degree is Marge's dog reactivity.  It's a bit different than it used to be and I'm not quite sure that it's really rooted in fear.

She has been getting barky at agility class watching certain dogs run.  Now that we're in an Excellent level class, the courses are harder and the dogs are more driven.  I think she's feeding off of their speed and energy level.  Once they come back to the sidelines to sit with us, she is paying them no mind (whereas in the past this would, at minimum, lead to raised hackles and general worry on Marge's part).

Time to go back to Look at That, I think.  Quite frankly, it's so mild that I am not worried about it at all, especially since I know how to combat it.  It might actually be a GOOD thing for trials - I mean, I won't be that girl with the annoying barking dog standing right at the ring exit, but perhaps the fact that she is more amped up in an agility setting will detract some from the worry and stress that she sometimes feels. I'll experiment.

New Folks, New Exeriences
I had a couple of friends over  on Sunday.  I put Marge in her crate while they came in and settled on the couch (which is not far from her crate).  She let out one "WOOOO!" while in her crate because she knew that there were people nearby.  I waited until she calmed down (10 minutes or so), and then let her out.

Not a hackle raised.  Just what I want to see!

She was not very privvy to being petted, especially by my male friend, but took treats from them both, investigated them thoroughly, and then sprawled out on the floor just a few feet away.  Very, very successful, especially since it's been a LONG time since she's interacted with strangers in my basement.

We also made a quick trip to PetCo for Layla's food on Saturday.  Marge did pretty well in the store - she was a bit uneasy, but was responsive to me, took treats, and searched for yummy stuff on the floor.  She interacted a little bit with two store employees, whose hands she targeted with her nose.

She got a Natural Balance food roll and a bag of biscuits out of the trip.  Unfortunately, she heard some loud noises on the way back to the car and panicked, but took treats once she had climbed in.

And that's Marge's current training, in summary.  I'd write more, but on top of everything else, I'm getting sick again.  Sinus infection and pink eye.  Lovely!

Tuesday Training 41

I've had this post scheduled for a few days now.  I was going to scrap it in favor of a post about the snow storm, but the snow will be around for so long that I think it's OK if I wait to post about it.

We've had some visitors, lately, and Marge did well with all of them.

Last week, my good friend B stopped by for a quick visit.  Despite an initial grumbly display by Marge, heard from behind the basement door that confined her, she settled down quickly and accepted lots of pats and praise.  B interacts with her in a way that doesn't scare her, which makes his visits enjoyable for all of us.

On Christmas Eve Eve (yes, that's intentional), my mom's good friend stopped by to deliver some homemade quiche to her.  Marge was initially sent outside since she reacts so strongly when someone goes through the door, but when she came back in, she did a quick sniff of the friend (with hackles raised), then did a whole-body shake and acted completely normal.  She even showed off her up-and-coming trick, a directed "fetch" that I hope to put to good use to obtain her APDT Rally Level 3 title.

That same evening, Marge's wee friend, Nappy the Chihuahua, stopped by outside our house with his owner to deliver Marge a gift.  It was adorable - Nappy had a big stocking attached to his leash and dragged the presents over to Marge, like a tiny Santa Claus.  Marge was totally unfazed by his arrival and interacted with his momma, too.  Over all, she wanted to go inside, since it was so COLD, but it was nice for her to respond so favorably to their presence.

Lastly, in the wake of the giant snowstorm we've just experienced, our elderly neighbor stopped in to pay me and my sister for shoveling out her front door.  Again, Marge was in the basement while Lily came through the door, and then came upstairs with me.  She was more than happy to accept the treats and pats that came from her.

I'm still wrestling with how to tackle the door issue.  If I'm there and someone comes in, she tends to rush the door growling (which is just a display because then she starts sniffing, but I can understand why some people wouldn't like it).  If I'm NOT there, she tends to stand back, growl once or twice, and not really approach the person (this situation seldom comes up, though).  Right now, I usually send her outside or down the basement to allow the person to come in and then invite Marge back up slightly thereafter.  Sometimes, I let her stay in the kitchen and feed her treats while the person comes in the door, but she tends to get more freaked in that scenario than when I simply send her out.

Despite her imperfections, I think all of this is proof of the success she's made in dealing with people.  She's far from perfect, but also far from where she started!

Winter Park-Hopping

One thing I have not been very good about lately is bringing Marge to different locations for walking and/or training, aside from dog events.

Now that I have some more time, I'm going to try to bring Marge to different parks at least once a week.  Even if we start repeating (which I think we will), I'd like to re-expand our choices so that Marge is comfortable walking in a variety of different parks.

Last week, our destination was the boardwalk, where there was a fair amount of people around.  Marge did quite well, if you recall from my last post.

Today, our choice was the long path along the road in one of our "National Recreation Areas," despite the fact that I am in the midst of a long post-reinforcement pause (hah) after finishing all of my work for the Fall 2010 semester and, therefore, want nothing more than to bum around on the couch.

We walked 2 1/2 miles together over the course of an hour, with some running, some sniffing, and some obedience work thrown in.  It was quite cold for me, but I think Marge enjoyed herself, for the most part.

There weren't very many people around and Marge did give oogly eyes to a couple of men that she saw, but she never outright panicked and always took treats.

Strangely enough, I think the lack of people was bothersome for her, as compared with the boardwalk.  At the boardwalk, there was a steady flow of people, and perhaps I'm anthropomorphizing, but I think she "expected" their presence, whereas in this park, a lone individual would slowly approach along the path only every once in a while.

Most times, her strategy to cope with the approach of a human is to direct her attention towards a tree, garbage can, or other smelly object and sniff her heart out (which may be a signal to the humans that she has no intent to bother them, may also make her feel more secure, or may be unrelated - I think it's all three, depending on the situation and her body language).

I am fine with this because it is MUCH better than her fleeing; I also feel that if she was very nervous, she wouldn't be able to do this with people walking by in such close proximity (since it happens frequently in our neighborhood, where people pass sometimes as close as 1 or 2 feet from us).  Sometimes, she looks as though she is indifferent to their approach and is sniffing just to sniff, which may very well be the case.

We are also working on her glancing at the incoming person and then looking back towards me.  I am rewarding her for both behaviors (sometimes for looking at them, sometimes for looking at me), so as to work to build a positive association with whatever's approaching and also to maintain her ability to focus on me.

It worked absolutely smashingly with an aggressive-looking Shar-Pei who walked (er, pulled) by about 30 feet away from us.  She was able to watch the dog and get the information that she needed (because would YOU want to keep your back turned from something that looks scary?), and also able (and quite willing) to look towards me.

I hope to have more posts like this over the course of the winter, hopefully with more photos than I had today!

Bravery

Tonight, I took a huge gamble and brought Marge with me to our club's meeting.  There are a lot of people, a lot of dogs, and a lot of commotion at the meetings, but I thought it could be a good opportunity for Marge to get out and experience a new situation.

She lapped up the whole thing.  She was a little worried in the beginning (especially when one individual opted to let her dog pull at the end of the leash rather than keep it close by her side), but really did amazingly and really just begged for attention.  There were a few yawns and some lip licks, but also quite a few play bows, soft eye blinks, and lounging around on the floor. There were LOTS of treats to be had, like string cheese, chicken cutlet, and pizza.

She made friends with people who I've never even spoken to before in my life!  She saw some of her friends, like a Border Terrier, a Yorkie, and a Bernese Mountain Dog, and also met a couple of new dogs, like a young Border Collie and a fellow black Labrador.

During the "Brags" section of the meeting, I bragged about her recent OAJ leg as well as the fact that this was the first time that I'd ever brought her to a meeting - and that if you would have asked me two years ago if I'd bring her to a place like this, I would have called you crazy!

So, yet again, Marge outdoes herself.  In this high-and-low journey of what it is to own a dog with fear and socialization problems, this was definitely one of the highs.

Walking In A Dog's Shoes

I was eagerly sitting in my Experimental Psychology class listening to my Professor teach, as usual.  Then, someone said there was a huge bug on the window, inside of the room.

The description (namely, the size) was enough for me; I didn't even have to see the bug.  I got the heeby-jeebies, wiggled in my seat, and had the burning desire to continuously keep looking over my shoulder and side-to-side to attempt to locate the invader.

I heard the words the Professor was saying as he continued to teach, but could not process them or think about them for at least a few minutes.  My mind was preoccupied, whether I liked it or not, due to the big bug. Despite my very strong drive to succeed in this class and impress the teacher, I could not pay any attention to him because of the very scary thing supposedly clinging to the wall.

I hope you see what I'm getting at, here.  Next time your dog is afraid of something and "blows you off" when you ask for a behavior, think of my experience in my favorite Psychology class with my least favorite creature in the world.

Inhale, Exhale

I'm trying my best to calm down about this whole agility trial thing.  I know that I'm overdramatic about it.  I think I'm just so afraid of screwing up Marge's agility career as a new dog owner and new agility handler that I overanalyze every little thing that goes on.

The suggestions I've gotten are all across the board.  I've had one or two people that told me to stop trialing altogether for an extended period of time.  I think that's kind of on the extreme side.  Most responses are within the range of "keep doing what you're doing."  Some cite me and my limited trial schedule as being responsible for Marge's apparent (and yes, slight) discomfort in the ring.

Ultimately, we ARE going to stop trialing for an extended period, just because of the winter, after our last outdoor trial on November 6th and 7th.  I can't bring myself to trial her indoors right now.  The noises are different, they may be louder because the sounds are contained.  It looks different, and it probably smells different, too. I think that trialing through the winter in places that neither Marge nor I are comfortable at would be more injurious than stopping for a while and picking up where we left off in the Spring.

I do think that part of the problem is that we haven't had a lot of class time this fall.  Between the heat, the rain, and whatever else, class has literally been cancelled every other week.  This past week, we barely had any running time in class at all - the class was full with 7 or 8 dogs, which meant we all got very limited time to work. Maybe I should set up some ring time again at the club to work on agility with Marge.  I'm planning on having a private lesson before the next trial, but not this week - this week is reserved for a massage for Marge.

I'm trying very hard to get to a run-through this coming Saturday at another training facility.  So far, I've sent 2 e-mails, but haven't heard anything back.  It'll be a smallish group - 25 dogs or less - and it will be outdoors.  I feel horrible for asking Louie to go with me, even though he's more than happy to.  I'll have two minutes in the ring to do what ever I want.  Someone gave me the good idea of breaking it in half - doing one minute, then having the next dog run, then doing another minute.  I'm not sure if that'll be allowed, but I definitely want to keep things short, fun, and motivational, and I want to surprise Marge with rewards at problem areas (the table and the teeter, mostly).  We'll see if I'm able to go.

One thing I did do recently is cut back on Marge's L-Theanine.  I dropped her from 50 mg to 25 mg, because she has been doing SO well.   I'm going to bump it back up for the next two weeks, and perhaps give her 75 mg the day of a trial.

And that's about all that I can do.  I know that my stress might be adding to things, so I have to really work to change that.  I'm trying.

The Sound of the Judge's Whistle

The one good thing I have to say about this trial is how nice the trial site was.  The drive up was gorgeous.  The woods in the park were even more gorgeous.  Marge loved it.  She showed absolutely no signs of being hurt as she ran around in the woods, trying to find critters to hunt.  I definitely think I would trial there again.

However, the rest wasn't so pretty.  Marge's performance in the ring yesterday was directly correlated with how well the dogs before her did.

They all got whistled off the course.  Marge does not like whistles, especially ones that don't sound like "normal whistles" and bear some semblance to the sound of a high-pitched firework or smoke alarm.

Our first run was Standard.  I wasn't in love with the course, but it wasn't terrible.  

The amount of waiting time at the start was ridiculous.  They had to fix a tunnel that moved.  I know they want to move the trial along quickly, I know.  But if they weren't so worried about the next dog being in the ring while the other dog was still on course, my dog wouldn't have tried to run away when she heard said dog being whistled, because I would have been outside the ring with treats.

Maybe I shouldn't have run her after the whole whistle business.  I'm not sure.  The beginning of the course, despite for the lack of stopping on the dog walk, wasn't too bad.  She hit her 2o2o on the A-Frame, but when I tried to front cross before releasing her, she took my movement as a cue to go. So, I had to rear the 180. Then we had the off-course tunnel before the weaves (lots of dogs did this), the hop-off-hop-on table, and then..

..another teeter flyoff.  Her second in a trial this year.  The judge gasped. Marisa blamed me for it, because I tried to rear cross behind the teeter, but I really think it was a case of Marge not hearing me say "teeter! bang it! bang it!" because she was stressing and couldn't follow direction.

I wasn't going to leave the ring on that note, so I sent her over the last two jumps.  But she was clearly not with me at that point.

The first three letters on my score card read "W T F," which I thought was extremely telling of the whole thing.

The next run, I almost missed my walkthrough because I was out playing with Marge.  Except for one area, the course looked really nice.  It was similar to the JWW course we ran and succeeded on a couple of weeks ago. 

But, more dogs got whistled, and this judge was using a really high pitched whistle, and seemed to like blowing it not just once, but several times.  I wish I could have snatched it away from her. At least we weren't in the ring at this point.

The pinwheel was a disaster, she missed a jump and then did all sorts of circly, stressy stuff.  Her weaves were nice and the ending was nice.  

There were bright spots, I guess.  But the whole thing just blows my mind.  Since September, there seems to be always one thing that goes wrong at trials.  Planes overhead.  Automatic table counts.  $%@$ing whistles.   She never used to stress at trials, now she is.  Why?  Why was the Spring so damn good, and now the Fall is awful?

Everyone tells me I need to do more trials.  I *think* I agree with that, but I don't really know.  If I do 2 days of a trial, there's a chance that Marge will be more comfortable the next day, because she had already been there the day before.  There's also the chance that she will be more stressed.

Other people tell me I need to trial over the winter, indoors.  I REALLY don't want to do this.  I do not see the logic at all in adding yet another variable (being indoors) to the trial experience while Marge is going through this slump.  Their line of thinking is that it will get her in the ring and get her "used" to the idea of trialing.  My line of thinking is that I have an environmentally sensitive, sound phobic dog, and trialing indoors would be stupid.  Run-throughs indoors?  THAT'S a good thought - especially since I could treat it like a trial and then surprise her with cookies in the middle of the course.

Is that what I'm supposed to do?  Essentially flood my dog until she "gets used" to being at trials?  I'm afraid I'm going to ruin the whole thing for her.  Trialing, for her, is about being out for an entire day.  She gets to meet friends, go on walks, get treats, etc.  The actual agility part, with warm-up, is probably only about an hour of the entire day (we were in this park for at least 7 or 8 hours).  Despite me being really upset about the agility, Marge didn't have a bad time overall today.  I'd hate to ruin that by being less selective about where I trial her and just take her everywhere for the purpose of getting her more ring experience.

I have one more outdoor trial this year, in two weeks, at the park near my house.  It removes a LOT of variables - I know the trial site, I can go home between runs, I don't have to rely on anyone else to drive me there.  If she doesn't show me that she feels better about trialing, then I guess it's going to be a really long winter.  And, it will be hard to get back in to the ring come next year,

I'd definitely appreciate some thoughts on this whole thing.

On an unrelated note, yesterday marked the first day that Marge has traveled through all 5 boroughs of New York City.  I guess I have a well-traveled dog.  Here she is, outside the battery tunnel.

Houses and Homes

I've had a rough time this weekend, which explains my absence of posts despite the fact that there is actually a lot to post about.  I don't want to get in to details, mostly because I'm just trying to move on from it and because it is too personal in nature for me to comfortably talk about publicly.  But, just to acknowledge it here, Marge had what we'll call a bit of a setback in terms of her interactions with my father.  Every one is fine, she did no wrong, it could have been much worse, and I'm probably harping on it more than any one else, but I guess that's the price to pay when you love an animal this much.

So I guess what I'll end with is this: dogs are animals, not people, and do not think like people or rationalize behaviors like people do; and, it's much better to catch flies with honey rather than vinegar (I think that's how the saying goes, anyway).

And, also, thank you to the wonderful people who I reached out to this weekend.  You helped more than you could ever know.  You know who you are.

-----------------------------------------------

Now that that's out of the way, I can share something a bit more interesting and upbeat (we'll skip Tuesday Training this week).  Saturday, just before the aforementioned situation arose, Louie, my sister, Marge and I took a very special hike.  Our destination?  Per Forgotten-NY.com:

"In the early 1800s, a certain M. Heyerdahl built a stone house in Bucks Hollow, a long, long distance from the nearest large settlement in Richmondtown. It was his hope to establish wine vineyards and orchards, but Staten Island's rocky soil foiled his plans, and at length, he moved out, abandoning his house. Nature has been taking it over ever since."

My sister and I have been wanting to explore the Heyerdahl House for a long time, but I waited until  Louie was around for us to go (because he wanted to come, too, and because it's easily the most remote part of our woods and we had to travel off trail).

The woods grew quiet very quickly, much quieter than any other hike I've been on.  We didn't see any one for pretty much the entire duration of the hike. For a dog with issues, it was paradise, I'm sure.

A bird left behind a bright blue feather, which contrasted nicely with the brown forest floor.

After just a bit of confusion as to where we were supposed to go off trail and take an unmarked path up to the house, we found our way, and the remnants of the stone house stood before us.  The only house any where in sight, and a blast from the past.  It was hard to get a picture of the entire thing, since it was very much surrounded by plants and trees.  Here are the front steps:

And, the view looking outward from those same steps.  Almost makes me want to start piling some stones up and restore the dang house for myself.  Sheer nothingness.

A few more shots around the house.

We hung around for a good while, examining the structure of the house and wondering whether it had separate rooms, and a basement, etc.  It was pretty over grown right now, but I think that we might be able to get a better look at it in the winter when some of the plants (and THORNS!) die off.  We'll return in a few months to see what it's like.

We walked back to the trail, these trees to our right leaning permanently towards the house.  They do say that this hill is haunted by Heyerdahl.. I have my reservations about that idea, but this animated little grove was a little spooky, I'll admit.

The forest also took care to remind us that the seasons are beginning to change; this leaf was one of the more photogenic signs of the oncoming shift from summer to autumn.

You can barely even see the trail in this picture.  What a wonderfully secluded place to spend some time.

It was an overcast, slightly humid, but not too hot day.  I wonder if these trees are dead, for no leaves grew on them and they stood with their gnarled branches sticking up towards the sky.  If I didn't know better, I'd have thought it was winter based on this picture.

Trips like these should become more frequent in the coming weeks.  The most beautiful season is almost here, and if we don't take our fleeting chance to enjoy it, it will disappear for another year.

Tuesday Training 39

About Those Walks...
I finally decided that the right thing to do was to set my alarm clock for the crack of dawn and take Marge for some early morning walks.  Thus far, it's worked.  We walked on Friday morning, Saturday morning, and this morning.  The temperature is lower, there are no fireworks or construction or any other comparable noises. It's NICE.

I've decided that, for the interim at least, I'm better off avoiding her worst noise triggers (fireworks, etc.) rather than working through them.  Some have suggested that I get a behaviorist to help me out - but I admit, it's really tough to convince myself that it's necessary, since we really only have big problems for two months out of the year.  Thankfully, this summer does seem to be going better than last, so perhaps each year will get a little better on its own.

I don't plan on doing it every day, since getting out of bed every morning at 6:30 AM is really hard for me (definitely not a morning person), but this new walk time still likely means an additional two or three forty-minute walks every week.  Add that on to the shorter walks we take, our training sessions, playing with toys in the yard, meals in treat toys, and going to class, and I feel pretty good about the amount of exercise Marge is getting based on the fact that it's the middle of August.

The above photo was taken on the same day that Louie and I went plane spotting.  We took Marge down to the boardwalk for a stroll, and although it was pretty busy, she handled it OK.  Bringing along her favorite treats certainly helped.

Back in the Show Ring
On Saturday, Marge will be back in the APDT Rally ring for the first time since April.  I'm really excited.  We'll be running in Level 1B (to start accumulating some Championship points for our ARCH title) and Level 2A (to try to get our first qualifying leg out of three for our RL2).

The Level 2 run will be a brand new thing for us.  We haven't yet finished our Rally Advanced class, which covers the Level 2 signs, but I am confident that we have practiced enough and know enough of them to put in a good effort at the trial.  The only sign I might avoid is the new Bonus exercise that they added, in which Marge must recall to me while the judge basically walks alongside her.  We haven't practiced it and it's not mandatory, so I'll omit it if it's a part of the course (it may not be).

It's going to be a bigger trial than the last time.  I'm figuring there will be around 20-30 dogs there, which is more than she's ever experienced at an indoor trial. Fortunately, I'm going to the club the night before to help set up (I'm in charge of lunch at the trial), so I'm going to take some of my stuff along, too, and get Marge's crate ready so that when she gets there the following morning, I have one less thing to worry about.

Wish us luck!

Things have been going pretty well, lately.  Though I hate the fact that I'll be going back to school in a few weeks (and also hate the fact that I'm spending those last few weeks being VERY busy), I'm thankful that the summer is beginning to wind down and Marge's life is starting to get colorful again.

P.S. - Thanks for all of your thoughts regarding Competition Obedience in my last post.  I'm supposed to be going to observe a class at my club tomorrow night, as long as I don't get sick (feeling kind of run-down today...).  I'm excited that this may be a new avenue for Marge and I to explore and bond together in.

And, thanks to our new friends at Furbaby Chat for this lovely award!

Fahrenheit and Fear

There are two big things in this world that Marge does not like.

Heat is one of them.
Noise is the other.

Heat produces a sluggish, unenthusiastic, not-so-food-driven Marge.
Noise produces the same.

How, then, do I tell a hot Marge from a scared Marge when we're out walking?

In the wake of our recurring summer troubles (thanks mostly to 4 PM fireworks one afternoon), it's really been difficult to tell the difference.  She is always somewhat hot - either it's the sun beating down on her black coat or the oppressive humidity that gets her panting.  I'd walk at night, but the risk of fireworks is just too great.  So, when does Marge cross the line from being just hot, to hot and scared at the same time?

I have been trying to wake up earlier in the morning to beat the sun and the sounds in my neighborhood.  This morning - an overcast, rainy morning - was perhaps the best walk we've had all week.  I wanted to keep walking her, but I cut it short after about 10 minutes because I really didn't want to end the walk with Marge getting scared of something.  There was some noise, but it didn't really affect her much.  Head down, tail up.  That's the Marge I like to see.

Yesterday afternoon, we walked across the field.  It was HOT. She was on her long line.  Her tongue was hanging out the side of her mouth, but her tail was down (droopy, really).  She was taking bits of string cheese, and was more than happy to go sniff the trees on the other side of the park.  When we turned for home, she was sluggish, somewhat responsive to me, but definitely not happy and definitely looking to get inside.

Of course, there is no doubt about what a panicky Marge is feeling.  We have had a couple of panicky walks, too.  But could it be that her reaction to what ever bothered her was brought on by the fact that she was hot - in other words, that her fear threshold was somehow lowered by being uncomfortable in the heat?

Her summer noise fears are definitely intertwined with the temperature.  On a cold day, she reacts a whole lot less to her triggers.  The question is how they're intertwined, and to what degree.  Is she reacting simply because the summer is noisier?  Or, does the heat itself play a role in her behavior?

Interesting questions, for sure.  If any one has any thoughts or similar experiences, I'd like to hear about them.

In the mean time, here's Marge this morning lounging on her spot on the couch.  I wish we could have walked more, but quality time bumming around with each other does have its perks, too.

Tuesday Training 35

I didn't get a chance to update last week about our agility class. Unfortunately, I don't remember the whole course so I can't post a map, but it was an Excellent Jumpers course and definitely one of the harder courses I've seen

We didn't do a horrible job at it, but it wasn't one of our best nights, either.  Though she was running quite fast, I didn't feel like Marge was really in to it, and I didn't feel like we were working as a team.  She made up her own course a couple of times, and sniffed a couple of others.  She also popped out of her weaves 10 zillion times (which I was a bit concerned about, especially thinking back to our doomed Open Jumpers run last Sunday at the trial when she did the same).

Things got better by the end of the night - I made sure to end the weaves on a high-note will all 12 done and we worked the A-Frame contact a bit.  She seemed MUCH better.  Marisa speculated that the cool temperatures - the first in quite some time - might have been partially to blame for her spaceyness.  Marge was in a great mood - able to sit calmly next to her least favorite dog at class (a great opportunity for playing "Look at That Dog" with her) and completely social with everyone.

So, it didn't seem like her issues were caused by stress - a big relief.  Instead, I think it's highly likely that she was simply all-agilitied-out.  After two days of trialing in the extreme heat, I can't really say I blame her.

Today, the temperature is near 100 degrees.  It's extremely likely that agility will be cancelled tonight (last night's classes were), but, if it's not, we're going to take a self-imposed holiday.  It's really hard for me to make the decision to stay home from class, since I like going so much and I paid for it.  But, between the heat and the threat of the last illegal fireworks from the 4th, it just seems like the smart thing to do.  Besides, my hope is that she'll be raring to go next week at class after this short hiatus.  Agility is supposed to be fun, after all.

Speaking of the 4th...

We managed, I guess.  All in all, it was one of the quietest Independence Days I can ever remember, but that doesn't mean Marge wasn't affected.  We got caught by some July 3rd fireworks on an afternoon walk ($#^&#@ -- couldn't you wait until the next day?), and then I knew that the walks had to be put on hold.  We also got caught outside around 5PM on the 4th in the yard.  Things got pretty bad around 9 PM, and Marge just could NOT settle down.  I had music on quite loud, but it didn't completely mask the noise. At one point, she paced throughout the whole basement, looking for a place to hide.   On the positive side, there wasn't really any time where she refused all food - so, I kept chicken breast, roast beef, and cheese cold-cuts on hand and threw them at her every time a blast went off.

Eventually, she went in her crate, which I covered in blankets in an attempt to make it as snuggly and sound-proof as possible.  I zipped up the door about halfway, leaving a section open so that I could continue to toss treats to her.

I made use of the NYPD's e-mail hotline to report illegal fireworks, and was really pleased when I looked out my window to see them in my neighborhood.  I have absolutely no problem being a snitch or a rat or a tattletale.  I will NOT just sit there doing nothing as my dog panics, and I sincerely hope that they caught people in my area.  It is completely unfair that other people (and animals) must be disrupted by these individuals' unlawful behavior.

We walked for about 10 minutes this afternoon, but it's really too hot for anything else.  Perhaps we'll do some training indoors later on.  Stay cool, everyone.

The Weekend (And Summer) Ahead

We battle fireworks year-round here, but nothing compares to July 4th.  Since it falls on a Sunday this year, I have a feeling we're going to have an unpleasantly extended holiday weekend over which we'll have to deal with the blasts.  Unfortunately, it usually doesn't stop there.  The month of July was absolutely awful last year, and unless something major happens, I don't think that will change very much.

Marge's walks have definitely decreased in frequency and duration.  Not only does she not want to be outside because of the heat, the threat of fireworks scares me indoors all through the late afternoon, evening, and night.  We walk in the morning, or sometimes around noon.  Occasionally, we'll sneak in a walk at night, but only if it seems really quiet (usually rainy nights work well - no one wants to shoot fireworks off in the rain) and never on Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays or Sundays, since they seem to be the most frequent nights for fireworks. Unfortunately, though, our ritual of walking regularly at night has stopped indefinitely, until at least September or October.  It stinks, because Marge really does enjoy walking at night.

To compensate for the decreased activity, Marge is eating less, and many of her meals are dispensed from her Kibble Nibble.  I've tried to find other mentally stimulating food dispensers and toys, but so far, this one takes the cake as being her favorite.

It's too hot to train (even indoors), so practice for Rally has pretty much come to a halt - no pun intended.  I did set up two jumps in my yard and grabbed a piece of cheese, but Marge seemed pretty lackluster doing agility, too.

In terms of the weekend specifically, Marge's meals will be cut drastically to make way for the many treats that she'll get as a part of counterconditioning her to feel a bit better about fireworks.  In some ways, the predictability of these fireworks is good.. maybe, just maybe, I can make a small dent in her fears by pairing fireworks with yummy food all weekend.

Her supplement, L-Theanine, will likely be increased a bit.

We'll hunker down in the basement, too, where Marge can enjoy her soft crate and I can turn up the volume on the television to drown out the blasts.

Hopefully, we won't be having any company this year - last year, we had quite a large crowd in celebration of my grandmother's birthday, but that event seems to be moved to a restaurant this year.   I just have to keep my fingers crossed that no one winds up here afterwards (the restaurant we're likely going to is up the block from my house)...

Ah, well, we'll make the best of it.  Hope you all have a happy, safe 4th, and remember to keep your pets contained and on-leash, especially if they are noise-phobic like mine is.

(P.S. - I haven't updated on my cat, Layla, in a while.  Her nose is healing, slowly but surely.  It looks pretty good today. I'm anticipating another week or so of cone-time before she can go back to being a normal kitty again. Keep your fingers crossed!)