Day Two -- Don't Change My World

See had a play date with her friend, Miles, today. It was nice for her to get into a large area where she could run but I had intentions beyond just a romp in the grass.

Sia has been having a hard time with changes at her house recently so I wanted to expose her to new environments, new people, new dogs, etc. and balance that with known, familiar, and comfortable environments.

The exercise can help in a couple of ways. Exercise can help to reduce anxiety but it can also help her to associate positive things with things that might be a little difficult for her.

Even though she was having a good time on her play date, it was still stressful being in a new place.

It took her a while to take in the new environment and there were sounds she was a little nervous about. She was not her normal, responsive self either. I wasn't worried about that though. I really was much more concerned with the socialization portion of the experience. If we had been to this new environment several times, I would have had higher expectations as far as her responsiveness goes. But, this being her first time here, I really wanted to go just have a nice, pleasant association with going into a new environment.

On a side note, if you had any question whether she would enjoy agility...

I think the answer is "yes."

I also had Sia come along while I took Billings and Sinbad to the vet.

It's really good for dogs to occasionally go to the vets, get some treats and leave. No shots today! Just a nice, happy experience. I also knew there would be a lot of sounds and changes in her environment to help her get more use to that. And thankfully Sinbad was available to hold her head up...that little Miles wore her out.

Eventually she was nice and relaxed at the vet office despite the noises happening on the other side of that door.

It was a super busy day today. We also did her eval at Ruby's Day Care so she met a lot of new people and dogs in another new environment. And, if that wasn't enough, we spent some time, moving things around in the back yard and making noise to help her get more comfortable with the changes at her house. Hopefully she'll be more at ease when she gets back home tomorrow. She's been doing great here and even showing off her loose leash skills in a variety of distracting environments. Good girl!

August 2012 -- Surprise Visit!

We had an unexpected surprise today! Sia is back for a short visit. A little bit of training, a little bit of stress relief, and a lot of exercise should patch her up for the weekend.

When things are a bit stressful in Sia's world, it's nice to have some familiarity in her environment. Healey is quite sure this exuberant greeting is unnecessary. She would really prefer no public displays of affection. Sia, on the other hand...

Would turn herself inside out to get some attention from Healey.

Healey, you just need to suck it up, she's had a hard day.

Play is an excellent way to change a dogs' emotional state. Sinbad was happy to help in this regard. Training, too, can help with her emotional state. Although we don't want to overdo it with the training when she's stressed like this, doing obedience work here and there will help her build up confidence and to focus on something else.

Canine sports can have a similar outcome. Agility, for instance, can really build a dogs' confidence. They become more sure-footed and gain confidence navigating the obstacles. It also helps overall with your relationship with her. She'll learn to look to you more for direction which can improve some fear issues. If she is looking more to you for guidance, she has less to fear because she knows you will take care of it.

Sia wore out fast today. I think she was pretty relieved to be in quiet. Plus she was pretty tired from trading a tug toy back and forth between she and Billings so they could take turns doing a kill shake with the toy.

She wore Billings out in no time. I guess that's not very hard to do though...

Rest up, Sia, we have a big day planned for tomorrow. First, a play date with your Dobie friend, a little bit of training and then off to meet some nice folks a dog day care.

July Day Nine -- Goodbyes Again

Sia gets more quiet and thoughtful at each visit. I suppose I can say that now that 4th of July is in the past. But really, she is so much more calm each time she comes here.

She's still active but with a lot more self-control. It's nice to hear from people who have met her in the past (all my greeter helpers) comment on how calm and well behaved she is now. The ultimate compliment to your hard work, consistency and boundaries with her is that she is much better behaved than a lot of dogs her age of different breeds. She brought a big smile to my face today when I had set my treat bag down on a table top. I had forgotten about it, all full of chicken, cheese, jerky and other tasty treats. Sia brought it over to me today untouched. Needless to say, she got a big finders fee for that one.

All the dogs paired off with their appropriate matches and all played well together.

I think the hot sun got to her today. She was nice and perky in the morning and evening, but midday she was pretty subdued.

I teased her that she was laying back with the older dogs watching the young pups play.

It might be worth it to get up and sniff around but she was not going to join in on all the youthful play. Silly girl, it wasn't that long ago...

Not to worry, she's not above it all. I think that's part of my fern in her collar. Oh Sia...

As always, I absolutely love having this girl here. She is just as sweet as can be and so much fun to work with. Come back soon, Sia...

Day Eight -- What's That Sound?

Sia has been hyper alert this last week. Those big tall ears of hers are picking up on everything in the neighborhood. She's responding well to redirection so I haven't needed to put her in a time-out but we definitely go inside a lot if there is a lot going on outside. This is pretty common this time of year. Most dogs aren't use to the sounds of 4th of July when it sounds like a war zone so it keeps them on alert. There are few fireworks now but every once in a while one will go off.

Even the birds are driving her a bit crazy right now. I'd like to think she was guarding the freshly laundered dog beds but I don't think that was part of her agenda.

She is doing much better at her response to the "down" command. She's able to do it on the first request even with other dogs close by.

And she can maintain that position even when her friends are being really unfair. I mean really, kissing a girl when she's in a down stay? Dirty pool...

She didn't think this puppy was nearly as interesting as the one from yesterday. I mean, she was ok, but she really didn't know how to use her paws like that other boy. Boring...

She actually seems quite a bit less distracted these days. And she's much more responsive if she does get distracted.

Sinbad thought it was just as well that the other puppy didn't come back today. Now, at least, Sia gave Sinbad the time of day. He was a little sad when he wasn't the center of her world.

July Day Seven -- Play Date!

We had a play date today but before meeting our new friend, we spent some time working on those fast downs again. This time with not quite so many dogs crowded around her. If we practice at a slightly lower distraction level, a level that she can handle, we can build up to getting compliance in a really high distraction situation when there are dogs all around. These were also dogs she knew so it was easier for her to comply. We didn't try this when her play date arrived because she's not quite ready for that level of distraction. It won't be long though...she's really coming along nicely.

Big surprise for Sia today! We had another Dobie pup come over for a play date.

It was like they were long lost friends with their play style. They were so excited to be with each other. It was as if they were thinking, "Someone who finally understands me!"

Different breeds have different styles of play. The Dobies definitely like to use their feet.

As usual, Sia was very appropriate with the puppy. Maybe she knew he would soon be so much bigger than she is now. Sometimes I think if you look at a puppy long enough you can actually see them grow.

Her recalls continue to be excellent, even in the face of such a big distraction. She can be mid-wrestle and she turns on a dime to come to me. I love that!

Even when we brought other dogs into the play group, these two were paired up the whole time. I was so pleased with how well Sia was checking in with me and listening during the whole play session. I should also mention, her greetings with people were very, very nice. No jumping at all.

They were two peas in a pod. We wish he could have stayed longer...

July Day Six -- Happy 4th of July?

Happy 4th of July? Probably not for dogs. Dogs tend to get very nervous this time of year because of all the loud noises. Even if a dog doesn't show noise phobia now, that can develop later on so we're very careful on how we handle firework sounds today. Sia does not seem overly concerned about them but she is definitely alert to the sounds and a touch more wired right now. We will limit our outside time today (especially in the evening) and I'm not going to make a big deal out of it if we do hear loud noises. I want her to know, without a doubt, that I am not concerned about those sounds and, if I made a big fuss about it, she would likely think I am worried too.

When there wasn't so much commotion going on, we were able to get some work and play done in the sunshine. To get her a little more responsive to her downs in high distraction environments, we work in distracting environments building up in intensity. When she struggled the other day doing a down in a crowd of dogs, I knew we had to backup and do it with a little less intensity. As always, the labs help me out by going into a down every time I say "down" to Sia. She's much more responsive at this level so now I can start to increase the intensity incrementally.

We tested out our work with her sits on an off leash greeting today. I had a person arrive in the back while Sia was off leash so we could see how her greetings were coming along. It was a person she has met before so I anticipated some excitement. But she was actually pretty aloof and did not approach the person for quite a while. When she did approach, she did keep her feet on the ground.

A new service puppy arrived today. Sia did great with him (of course) and didn't even squish him with her paws.

Sia always likes to have a little fluff ball to pal around with.

Don't worry Sia, the TV is up loud, the air conditioning is going strong, and we won't be going outside after dark.

The loud sounds will calm down tomorrow.

Until then, just close your eyes and your big lab friends will protect you.