mat

With travel and visitors and such, Ziggy training has fallen by the wayside.  But today we picked it up again, to make more concrete the command "mat." 

I'm still trying to come up with a hand signal for "mat" beyond pointing to it. 

For whatever reason, Ziggy was really challenged about pointing when I first got her - she did not understand it at all.  We've overcome that (unless: shenanigans where she pretends to not understand even when she does).*  But she will reliably go to "mat" as soon as she understands it, as good things happen there.  Sometimes she just lies on it for comfort, though she has two beds and two couches and lots of other spaces to lie on. 

She will hold mat well, even now letting me go out of sight before i call her, trusting that I will.  She immediately bounds to me, happy and proud of herself. 

And I'm trying to follow Karen Pryor's training on a dog overreacting with people at door, but here's my problem.  Ziggy will hold "mat" for a pretty long time, and I can walk to the door and jiggle the knob, and if she knows nobody is there she will hold it and watch me.  She's reliable about this.

But if we add in somebody actually here, all bets are off.  All training is immediately completely evaporated from her brain.

This makes it hard to train because it's not the training.  Ziggy learns very easily and happily.  It's that her brain short circuits with any kind of stress and she becomes a melted puddle of freak-out.  OHMYGOD THERE'S SOMEBODY HERE HE MIGHT BE AN AX MURDERER OR READY TO HAND ME FRESH STEAK OR BOTH.

To call her reactive is such an understatement.  It's better explained as: she becomes a complete wild beast and unable to respond to anything civilized until the stressor passes.

Sigh.  





*My BFF noted several examples of how Ziggy is clearly very bright.  For example, she is fed kibble in a treat ball that she pushes around to make the kibble roll out.  Whenever nearing a high couch or any other spot where it could get stuck, she carefully navigates it away.  I hadn't even noticed that.

good instincts

Yesterday Ziggy got out when my friend was WD-40ing the door hinges, and she ran down the stairs and of course chased birds in the neutral ground.

Then she ran to a house and wanted to go in the backyard.  Because ... ?  So she went under the house to get around and into the backyard, where she was pretty well contained but wouldn't come and I wasn't crawling under or breaking into the backyard. 

A mother and young daughter came out to see what was going on and they were so lovely.  They had noticed me and Ziggy before but I had never noticed them.  I think they moved in recently, perhaps after a marriage split.  We chatted a bit as I held a hyper dog at the end of a leash - she asked about the push mower I use, the little girl was very interested in Ziggy.  "She wants a dog so much, but I don't know about that.  We'll start a cat."

Anyway, I really like them.  You know how some people you just like their energy right off the bat?  That's them.  And, it seemed like the mom was looking for a friend, which is great.  Plus, now if Ziggy gets loose they know who to let know. 

Thank you, Ziggy, for the introductions.  Naughty dog.

true nature

Ziggy is a beast when it's me + company.  Take either out of the equation and she's chill.  But bring other people when I'm around and she is like a Tasmanian devil.

But the good news is, she's more attentive to me.  If I call her, she comes.  If I tell her "leave it," so far she's actually backed off. 

in a past life

Today Ziggy's past life regression was done, and here are some highlights:

Ziggy and me coming together wasn't what I was looking for or what we were looking for; it was all about Ziggy wanting and needing to find me.

Before, I was an old man and she was my hunting dog, and we were super closely bonded.  I was solitary and she was my sole companion.  Then we went out hunting and she got lost in the water and I couldn't find her and I had to return home but I came back for weeks looking for her.  She was found by poorer people who kept her chained and we never reunited.

Another life, I was a young girl and she was my puppy; she died at about a year old of a disease we now vaccinate against.  Because of this, Ziggy is stuck at puppy stage and views the world that way.  We were in a wealthy family and as they often are quite lonely, and the girl and puppy very closely bonded.

So that's all interesting.  She also said she sees Ziggy living to be 16 or 20 years old and .. wait, what?  20 years for a big dog? 

She says that healing our untimely separations will heal Ziggy.  That would be lovely. 

love at first sight

Ziggy and I did not have love at first sight - in fact, the opposite.  She was not impressed with me and I tried to give her up because she was so overwhelming. 

We love each other now, but that took months.  I now feel her as like an extension of me, or I of her - we move in rhythm that works for us.  I mean, I'll be glad when she's no longer a puppy and wants to nap more than play, but I love her enthusiasm and cheer. 

But meeting my best friend for the first time - oh good lord, it's like the dog and her had been BFFs since eternity.  Instant bond.  And Ziggy adores her sister - who when taking a nap, Ziggy climbed up and laid beside her, putting her head on the sister's shoulder, and the sister held her paw.  Ziggy doesn't let me anywhere near her paws since I TWICE cut her to the quick and hurt her. 

The nieces are more meh.  They're young adults and Ziggy thinks they act too cool. 

Also, I did not fall in love at first sight with the animals at the shelter. 

I just love my dog.  I wish all the other dogs well, but they stink. 

friends

A friend came over today and Ziggy was an obnoxious maniac.  "I don't mind her jumping, but her claws are so sharp."  Oh, actually they're really dull compared to usual.  Sigh.  We really need to work on this.  Even when I gave her a bully stick, she ate it while staring at my friend, and when my friend made some gesture Ziggy came right to her and ate it at her feet and the instant she finished she jumped up again. 

She was also shedding like crazy, which is what she does when she's stressed out.  I think that her nature is to be very protective - that's her breed, that's who she is.  But she is mannerly enough to not be aggressive, but she's still just a big mess about it all.  It so stresses her out to have people over but she also likes it, and it's all just turmoil.

And I have four people coming to stay for a week.  Actually I think that will be easier for her.

She immediately went to sleep when my friend left, completely exhausted from the whole encounter.  The friend was here for hours and we did all sorts of things like me having Ziggy hold on mat and I treat her every so often, me doing work in kitchen and Ziggy waiting watchfully.  But Ziggy is just a jackass because she'll sit pretty and my friend will lean down to pet her and Ziggy will jump up to plant a big kiss on her lips.  Which NOBODY LIKES.  Because she is also headbutting.

Sigh.

My friend she'd report to her mom that "Ziggy is as advertised."  Which cracks me up.  She also said it'll be quite a while before she'll bring her daughter over, who is spooked by dogs.  And while Ziggy is so much better behaved with kids than adults, I agree with that decision.

Then I needed to do errands and I gave Ziggy a treat and she happily took it but as soon as I reached for the door she threw it and ran for me.  Good grief.  She's so melodramatic, because when I came back she had eaten it.  Unlike when she's truly upset.

I think that not crating her makes her more excitable - she hears and interacts with sounds outside more.  Plus I made the stupidest mistake by saying early this morning: "Ziggy, your friends are coming today!"  Of all the things for her to understand, that's what she does, and all day she waited for her friends, getting excited about everything.

homecoming

I returned home to a dog who was VERY happy to see me.  As soon as she heard me at the friend's house she pushed the curtain to see me and then was ready to come through that door to get to me.  Fortunately it was opened before she wrenched it open. 

She's been very sweet and loving, but now her jackass is coming out again.  She's decided stealing my flip flops is the thing to do.  I disagree.  We have come to words over this. 

She likes the attention.  Tonight I was able to grab her with it and shook her scruff a bit and shouted "No!" while shaking the flip flop at her.  She looked at me completely understanding and completely without any fear.  Then just a few minutes later she grabbed it and ran and I chased her and she froze at the dog door and came to me and dropped it and then sat with me.  She knows I won't punish her if she gives up the prize.

How much longer will she go through these fits and starts of jackass?  Because if you had asked me a week ago if she still stole shoes, I would have 85% certainly told you no.  And she sniffed my friend's shoes but didn't show any interest in stealing them. 

No, just mine. 

Asshole.

she knows

Oh this jackass dog knows I'm leaving her and she's pulling out all the stops.

She just ate half a lime to spite me.

She pulled the insoles out of my garden shoes.

Yesterday she ripped my shorts when grabbing the frisbee.  I'd like to think it was an accident, but she didn't mark my skin in the slightest, so I'm skeptical.

This morning's walk was awful - a dog walked up on us when I wasn't paying attention, and Ziggy lost her marbles for the whole rest of the walk.  Constantly overvigilant. 

This poor puppy. She does not handle stress or change all that well. 

But, there are few people I trust to take care of her like these people so it will be fine.  They underestimate her volatility, but on the flip side it means that they expect more of her than I do and she seems to rise to their expectations pretty well. 

Ugh, getting up by 4 am tomorrow, on the road.

so many things to love about this dog

When I'm eating something, she is curious but knows it's not for her so she goes to her kibble and eats so that we dine together and she doesn't beg. 

When the washing machine finishes, she has taken to coming to me to tell me - she whines to tell me it's time to hang the laundry on the line. 

She tries to stay the night in my bed with me and sometimes can last until I'm asleep, but she only does it like an adult trying to put their child to sleep and she leaves as soon as she can't stand it anymore. 

Yesterday when she got out of the house, she ran to the neighbors and then came back to me and came in the house with no problem.

She is learning to jump with delight without making contact with me.  She loves jumping, I love not getting scratched - this is winning. 

Today we walked past Black Dog's house.  He no longer comes down the stairs to say hello - I'm not sure the reason for sure, but it seems to cause him some pain to go down the stairs - but also he was .  She is so over him.  She wasn't pulling to get there, she barely looked for him, and she just kept walking.  "He's just not that into us, person.  So we're not into him." 

sit and wait

Today I got home and opened the door, unsure of what I'd find.  It's Day 2 of Ziggy being home alone all day, out of her crate. 

What I found was a dog sitting at attention just inside and watching me patiently to get the door open. 

Not distraught, not upset, not jumping hyper.  Just sitting to greet me. 

Are our crate days behind us? 

She was pretty upset when I left without her though, rushing the door to go with me.  She is a loyal sidekick. 

We've both been a bit under the weather but we're coming around.

This is going to show I"m off the deep end, but I regularly sniff her, burying my face in her fur.  Why?  Well, her smell reflects her health.  When stressed, she smells quite bad. 

Despite our boring life, I think she's pretty happy.  She's lying on the floor now, chewing on a bone, and she decided to roll on her back and rolls into a favorite toy that now she's chewing on - she holds it up in paws and lets it dangle down on her face.   

I know I need to work on training with her.  Today I got pissed off at somebody walking her big Doberman on-leash with two chihuahuas that were off leash and chasing us.  Which means that when we got to Black Dog's house, he wouldn't come down to say hello.  He looked down on all this mess and he was like, "Oh fuck no.  No drama for me."  I couldn't coax him.  I think he has arthritis or another pain, I see him limping, but still - he usually comes down the stairs for us.  He could also be miffed because yesterday Ziggy kind of blew him off - he came down and they greeted briefly and then she was done and we walked away.  She was too cool and I wasn't arguing.  He's a sweet dog but he's Lab-stinky. 

big girl 'houla

Today I left Ziggy out of her crate when I went to work.  Granted, I only worked for four hours before rushing home, but still - this is a big step.

The reason for keeping her in her crate is that she seems to feel safe there.  When I get home at the end of the day, she doesn't seem upset at all.  She loves going into it because she gets chicken.  No drama.

But I worry about things like "What if something happens to me?"  If something were to happen to me and she were in her crate, that would be awful.  If she is out, she can bark at my tenant (studio apartment) or in the backyard at the neighbors who would recognize (hopefully!) that she has been abandoned.  I can leave her with more food and water.  All that.  By the time I would wake in a hospital bed, I could call somebody to pick up the dog - and while it would not be nice to leave her unattended for long, she could survive.  She could not if she were trapped in a kennel. 

So, she was super happy to see me when I got home.  She met me at the door and jumped and happy danced.  We are going to take that down a notch, but she seems fine.  She's here beside me on the couch, her head resting on my leg. 

She is a good dog.  I don't want to develop separation anxiety or anything such.  I'll go slow.