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.