I adopted a very special Puppy. Pics...and do you have Tips?

by Sirona 25 Replies latest jw friends

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  Sirona

  Restrangled.

  I tried the sssshhht thing and the hand touching her like a mouth....I've seen the dog whisperer do this.

  She backed down, but then started to wag her tail and come towards me like a challenge. When her mouth opened towards my hand I did it again. She seemed dazed! LOL (I didn't hurt her she just looked confused).

  We had a bit of an interaction where she challenged me and I did it again.

  Anyway, this ended (she gave up) and a few minute later I was stroking her (which is when she would normally try and mouth) and she moved to mouth.....but thought better of it.

  I think its working. I don't want the challenge situation again because I'm afraid of her thinking its a game where she "goes for" me and I "go for" her!

  ?????

  Sirona
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  restrangled

  Hi Sirona,

  If she senses any trepidation on your part, she will not back down. Remember you are the top dog and this is what they do in their own packs. To quote Cesar, "Stay calm and assertive"

  You're letting her know this is unwanted behaivor. Do not reward her with affection until she is calm and submissive. Start trying it just with the sound and no hand. It should start working great. Go back to the sound and hand if you don't get results. It will take some practice, but will last a life time with the dog.

  r.
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  looking_glass

  Good on ya for doing this.

  I work w/ deaf dogs (yes, dogs that are deaf, not dogs for the deaf). They are trained in a very special manner and then they are adopted out. We work w/ them to get them socialized to everything, often times deaf dogs are frightened and aggressive due to their handicap. Deaf dogs, as with a dog for special needs, hand signals are important. I know for a working dog that they need to be socialized but then they need to learn not to be distracted by outside sources because they have a task at hand. That can be hard because people always want to pet a dog.

  You will need lots of time and energy in order to work and train them. It is like having a new born. Temperament is very important as not all dogs are suitable for people with special needs. There are many web sites that provide excellent suggestions for training, but if you are working with a group they should also be providing you with all the necessary tips. In particular, each group has its own training program that they are generally known for, so work with that and supplement with research.

  It can be sad when you get to the point where you adopt the dog out, but there is such great joy in seeing your work accomplished and the joy that another person gets from the dog (in your case, the special needs individual getting a great dog and help).

  As for toys, the simple ones are the ones they love the best. I find that if you have an old sock and tie it in a knot they love that. You can take an old ball and put it in a sock. For a puppy, they generally lose their baby teeth w/i 4 months and those early teeth are VERY sharp and very tough, so they have a tendency to want to chew, chew, chew .... that is why an old sock w/ something in it for them to chew is good that way they don't destroy things by mouthing/teething them.

  I am so happy for you. Enjoy the time you have. It is amazing. And from experience, give it time, you will not be so tired as the puppy starts to get older. But I understand the lack of sleep my current guy is only 3 months old and in the beginning it is very slow going and very tiring and I have help because I work a full time job that is pretty time consuming, so I have someone who comes in the middle of the day and works w/ my guy also. But I get around 5 hours of sleep a night. But honestly I cannot imagine things being any different.
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  Sirona

  Restrangled,

  Thanks for the extra tips. Gary has had more success with her with this method and I've realised that if I use his technique she'll respond more readily to me. Its great to see progress! It makes it all seem worthwhile.

  Looking Glass,

  Thanks. That was a great post. I'm giving her a lot of time and energy right now, including at night. They told me not to get up if she cries, but I realised that she lets me know if she wants to wee in the night....so I get up, maybe once, and I let her out, let her wee and give her NO ATTENTION at all...put her back to bed. In the morning there is no wee in her cage and she has been back to sleep just fine. This is better than ignoring her cries and then having her wee possibly all over her bed. I don't go to her when she cries for any other reason though (e.g. attention). Now sometimes she sleeps through anyway.

  I am prepared in my mind for her to be re-homed with a blind person. I know I will miss her and be upset, but since I've kept it in mind that she isn't my dog, and she will be going, I think I'll be OK. I will make her the most confident, most socialised, most well trained dog that I possibly can - and she will have a good life because she had such a good foundation.

  Sirona
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  DJK

  I have two books written by Ceaser from the tv show "The dog whisperer". They are both very good.
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  RisingEagle

  As the proud owner of two well behaved black Labs, I applaud your efforts and you for the time you're giving to help others. Okay, I am lying about the well behaved Labs part. I do own two Labs and they are black.

  We got the little girl from a private breeder after we moved into our first house in Colorado. She chewed everything in sight, especially shoes. We tried everything to get her to stop, a jillion toys, frozen rags, ropes with knots and tons of rawhide. She even chewed a pair of my prescription eyeglasses - three days after I picked them up from the eye doctor. The only thing that cured her was time - time to get over the teething stage. She took to house training like a champ because we kenneled her at night. As long as my wife would put her fingers through the kennel for our pup to lick she was content (both the wife and the dog). We took her to Petsmart puppy classes and she did just fine with the treat reward training they showed us except for lead training, she never took to a lead so I get to walk her. She's my princess and when I'm loving on her I tell her she's, "the best damn dog in the world."

  We got our boy Lab by accident. My wife was driving home and thought she hit him. I think the dog wasn't looking and ran into the side of the car. He was fine but when we called the local shelter they said they'd probably put him down because there are so many Labs available. So we kept him. He's a good dog but he's extremely lazy. He had hip dysplasia and I think it hurt him to walk around much before he was fixed. I've never had or seen such a sweet disposition on any other dog. Even when he takes a treat he has an extremely soft mouth. Strangely enough, I think he would be the first to go after an intruder. He's my good boy, I can leave my family alone and not worry about them with him around the house. He also is kenneled and never once went potty in the house.

  I have one other dog a border collie/Australian shepherd mix. He's an awesome dog if it weren't for the other two messing with him he would be a great candidate for frisbee or agility contests. All my dogs are great which is a wonderful thing. If I owned each of them singly I think they would have so much more potential, three at once is a little much, at least for me.

  As far as tips, just continue with what your friends above have said and be patient, your pup will come around and the incorrect behavior will stop if you maintain consistency. Not everything works for every dog. When our little princess (Kaley Boo Canyon) was still chewing on stuff the Petsmart trainer recommended placing pennies or small rocks in a pop can and bending the tab over the opening and tossing it in the general direction of the dog. The noise was supposed to scare and distract her from the bad behavior. It didn't work. The noise got her attention, then she looked at the can and started chewing it. Good times!

  Best wishes to you on your efforts!