I think that most obedience classes are really about training the dog trainer more than the dog itself. This is probably likely even more the case with behavior modification issues. I see the problems I create myself all the time.
While I certainly did not create Ziggy's reactivity, I ensured its regularity in our lives by overexposing her to stressers when I first got her - all in the name of keeping the Catahoula (a very active breed) well-behaved through enough stimulation. But I so overstimulated her.
I still do, but it's still well-intentioned ignorance. And my soft heart for Ziggy. She's right now sitting so good, calmly, looking longly at the door; last night she even added in sniffing her leash. She knows she's not allowed to grab it, but she communicated with me very effectively what she wants: A WALK. She loves walking, I love walking (usually - not when she's melting down). For her it's less for exercise and more for mental stimulation of who's been where and what's going on; for me it keeps my joints working much better than immobility or high-impact activities. She is super observant* and likes to know who is where doing what. She's nosy. If somebody is going inside, she wants to make sure they make it all the way in with the door closed before we walk on. If somebody's sitting in the car, she wants to know what exactly is the issue, and she will stare people down with quite an intensity. She would be wonderful on a large ranch, keeping track of everything. But instead, we live in a city house, and I work against her nature. She keeps us safe from marauding sparrows and all sorts of creepy crawly flying things (I had a nasty termite swarm last week and she did her best to keep it under control). She wants nothing more than to run wild with the free-range four-year-old boy across the street, and while I know she wants to run around she also wants to keep an eye on him, which she currently does from the living room window.
We are still working on an appropriate level of watch dog - she has calmed from barking at everything and is a bit more discriminating now. Or, she'll bark to alert me and I'll tell her it's ok and she stops and just watches. She really is a smart puppy with very good instincts. Of course part of the barking is fun for her, and thank goodness that's what the neighbor thinks when she runs along the fence barking at him every single morning (though lately she's cooled on that) - he said, "She playing, I think." (He doesn't speak much English, but Ziggy is a polyglot.) Mostly she really does not like their dog, a yappy little thing who has worse manners than Ziggy, and the first time they "met" through the fence it was very not friendly. Ziggy does not forget and forgive when it comes to bad manners.
Ziggy has all these really wonderful characteristics. I got her for two reasons: protection (I live in a very unsafe cit) and companionship (it was time to stop seeing a man I'd been seeing a while and I knew it would be hard). She provides both with an excellent standard. She is delightful. But only consistently with me. The bad behavior since I got back is very unusual - she hasn't acted like that with me in months. I think it's a sign of her high stress levels.
Or is it? I never know what to do best for her and I keep trying.
Though, Ziggy is a wild beast and doesn't give a hoot about pleasing anybody, including me. She is the life of the party but in her own way. And I like this about her, her independence and self-confidence. She's extremely outgoing (which I am not) and jovial. Even when things are awful, she tries to make them fun. Contrast that to my last dog, a very intelligent border collie mix, who would look at me with disgust as though I was responsible for the inconvenience of everything from snow to rain to ill-behaved dogs to car malfunctions. Ziggy doesn't blame me for the rain, she's just having nothing to do with it, which is how I learned that she can slip any collar or harness. She's a wily one.
*The first time I came home with a pedicure since I had her, she immediately noticed and kept "commenting" on it by stopping to investigate and then looking up at me with this look of "YOUR TOES ARE COLORED AND SMELL DIFFERENT!"
While I certainly did not create Ziggy's reactivity, I ensured its regularity in our lives by overexposing her to stressers when I first got her - all in the name of keeping the Catahoula (a very active breed) well-behaved through enough stimulation. But I so overstimulated her.
I still do, but it's still well-intentioned ignorance. And my soft heart for Ziggy. She's right now sitting so good, calmly, looking longly at the door; last night she even added in sniffing her leash. She knows she's not allowed to grab it, but she communicated with me very effectively what she wants: A WALK. She loves walking, I love walking (usually - not when she's melting down). For her it's less for exercise and more for mental stimulation of who's been where and what's going on; for me it keeps my joints working much better than immobility or high-impact activities. She is super observant* and likes to know who is where doing what. She's nosy. If somebody is going inside, she wants to make sure they make it all the way in with the door closed before we walk on. If somebody's sitting in the car, she wants to know what exactly is the issue, and she will stare people down with quite an intensity. She would be wonderful on a large ranch, keeping track of everything. But instead, we live in a city house, and I work against her nature. She keeps us safe from marauding sparrows and all sorts of creepy crawly flying things (I had a nasty termite swarm last week and she did her best to keep it under control). She wants nothing more than to run wild with the free-range four-year-old boy across the street, and while I know she wants to run around she also wants to keep an eye on him, which she currently does from the living room window.
We are still working on an appropriate level of watch dog - she has calmed from barking at everything and is a bit more discriminating now. Or, she'll bark to alert me and I'll tell her it's ok and she stops and just watches. She really is a smart puppy with very good instincts. Of course part of the barking is fun for her, and thank goodness that's what the neighbor thinks when she runs along the fence barking at him every single morning (though lately she's cooled on that) - he said, "She playing, I think." (He doesn't speak much English, but Ziggy is a polyglot.) Mostly she really does not like their dog, a yappy little thing who has worse manners than Ziggy, and the first time they "met" through the fence it was very not friendly. Ziggy does not forget and forgive when it comes to bad manners.
Ziggy has all these really wonderful characteristics. I got her for two reasons: protection (I live in a very unsafe cit) and companionship (it was time to stop seeing a man I'd been seeing a while and I knew it would be hard). She provides both with an excellent standard. She is delightful. But only consistently with me. The bad behavior since I got back is very unusual - she hasn't acted like that with me in months. I think it's a sign of her high stress levels.
Or is it? I never know what to do best for her and I keep trying.
Though, Ziggy is a wild beast and doesn't give a hoot about pleasing anybody, including me. She is the life of the party but in her own way. And I like this about her, her independence and self-confidence. She's extremely outgoing (which I am not) and jovial. Even when things are awful, she tries to make them fun. Contrast that to my last dog, a very intelligent border collie mix, who would look at me with disgust as though I was responsible for the inconvenience of everything from snow to rain to ill-behaved dogs to car malfunctions. Ziggy doesn't blame me for the rain, she's just having nothing to do with it, which is how I learned that she can slip any collar or harness. She's a wily one.
*The first time I came home with a pedicure since I had her, she immediately noticed and kept "commenting" on it by stopping to investigate and then looking up at me with this look of "YOUR TOES ARE COLORED AND SMELL DIFFERENT!"
No comments:
Post a Comment