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.

July Day Five -- Through the Crowd

I love how Sia will work her way through a crowd to get to me when I call her to come.

She let's nothing get in her way and keeps barreling through.

She passes all the distractions to get to me.

But recalls are fun and exciting. Downs, on the other hand, can be a little less exciting and it takes a little trust in those around you to comply.

It could also be that it's too hard for her to do with that many distractions. So we back out of it a bit and take her to an area with slightly less distractions to see if she can comply.

Ok, still distracted but she is complying!

For things that are a little bit harder for her, like her sit stay, we'll make it a little bit easier and not have other dogs around.

That gives us an opportunity to work on distance (note the treats on the table and not on me -- I have to go to the table to get a treat to reward her so she won't learn to only do things if I have a treat on me).

As she improves, I can go a little bit farther, going back periodically to reward her for staying. Sits may not be the funnest thing in the world to do but they pay off pretty well with periodic rewards!

And now we can start to add in distractions with our distance (and really, at this point, duration as well).

I reward her up high on this particular exercise...

To help prevent her from sliding into a down. A down is a much more comfortable position for most dogs and it doesn't put pressure on their body like a sit does. If I know I'm going to be some where for a while, I'll ask for a down instead of a sit and beat her to the punch. But for now, we will continue to practice our sit stays so she is better with her greetings.

Sia has found a new favorite toy for this visit. Seems like it is a new one each time.

One little trick I do to help alleviate boredom is to rotate toys every couple of days. Suddenly an old toy sparks quite a bit of interest with everyone and it helps keep them focused on the toys rather than what's on your table top or in your shoe closet.

No reason for this photo except that she is just beautiful and very easy on the eyes...

July Day Four -- Oh the Noise...

Hopefully Sinbad didn't notice too much but Sia made some new friends today.

New friends provide a level of distraction that helps us proof some of our work. It's going to be considerably more distracting for Sia to meet a new dog rather as opposed to playing with the same dogs every day.

Yes, Sia, you still have to sit when your new friend is here. Just a little reminder of what she is suppose to be doing and lots of reinforcement when she does follow through.

There are more than just new friends to distract us today. There are sounds in the distance that are reminding us that the holiday is just around the corner. Dogs are use to the loud sounds of fireworks and, even if they seem ok with them now, they can develop a sound phobia later on in life. Best to avoid the fireworks as much as possible. The TV is on at my house all the time right now to muffle the sounds from outside. We're also practicing some of our coping skills if we are out and about.

It's ideal to start working with Sia when she is first noticing the sounds.

If she's already started her nervous pacing and/or barking, you can still manage things and she is responsive but at that point she is already aroused and she's more easily startled and reactive. It's just a little bit harder work at this level and you are less likely to be successful.

 Working on her down stays gives her something to do to keep her mind off of things and it teaches her some self-control. It helps also when a dog is a little nervous to give them something easy to do to help build up their confidence.

And, if any more loud noises happen, Sia's got the duck and cover thing down pat.

Let's not forget a little bit of play to take the edge off.