Progress is progress, no matter how small

Progress with a dog like Chopper is small. If you aren't careful you can miss it.  Lucky for us all I have a bit of a neurotic streak and it comes into good use here.

We have been trucking along with the hand targeting, where I call him and he touches his nose to my right hand. I click this behavior and treat.  He loves doing this game, and will stay outside looking at me when he wants to play it and I haven't initiated instead of following me inside. I always oblige, I mean, who am I to deny a dog of fun?  He doesn't always want to play it, sometimes he'll go outside, run a lap or two around the yard with his tail wagging, then bound up the short set of stairs with enthusiasm to the back door.

Today we met with a local dog trainer.  She had a lot of really great suggestions, more then I can remember (thank goodness she's sending me things in writing), but one thing I think we'll be making a regular game is a scent game.  Since Chopper is a scent hound he is wired for smelling things out.  The implications of this are he is both very skilled at it, and enjoys it.  So one thing we do is toss a small handful of treats out where they can fall to the ground and let him smell them out. When he comes back click and treat.  I hadn't been marking and rewarding  (with food, I'd been ear scratching) when he'd come back to me without me calling, but as it turns out I should be rewarding it *more*.  I am glad for the extra assistance, and I feel good about learning more things to try.

In other news, Chopper has gotten enough confidence to play with his toys more.  The racoon toy we got him has a water bottle inside of it, which means it can be loud and scary.  But after a brief moment of fear with the first crunch he sat down and starting gnawing it like crazy.  Then later he got up and grabbed another toy and took it to his blanket and was playing with the two toys at once. So cute.

I took advantage of the good mood he was in and clicker treated him into the living room. I want him to start being comfortable in other rooms of the house that we use more.  I got him all the way in the middle of the room before he decided he'd had enough and went back to his blanket.  Progress is progress, no matter how small.

Here's a video of Chopper the coonhound enjoying his 'coon toy:

Back from vacation

Hey all! Well the hubby and I had a much needed vacation while the dogs were home with a sitter.  I was wondering how things would be when we came home.  Chopper warmed back up to us quite quickly!  First he was shaking and on his blanket, but after about an hour I took him outside and he was playing and wagging in the yard.  Did a little bit of clicker training and then went off to bed. 

Today he is feeling really good.  Greg got full wags when he got home. I spent time outside clicker training a lot, but clearly it wasn't enough.  Poor Chopper wanted to keep going LOL. It was so sweet. 

Inside and after dinner we spent more time together. I did some dog massage on his back legs, which he was enjoying.  Afterward he came up to me for pettings, he especially likes chin scratches:

Meanwhile Kolohe was getting scratches from my other hand. She was clearly pleased with the arrangement:

 

Saturday we have a consult scheduled with a local dog trainer who will hopefully give us some additional ideas on how we can bring him out of his shell.

It's playtime!

Today I witnessed my two dogs playing together for the first time.  Kolohe tried to initiate play inside, but Chopper wasn't comfortable, so I took them outside.  Woweee did they play.  Mostly wrestling and a little chasing.  Kolohe of course growled and grunted like a bear, so Chopper tried making a few small barks too.  It was sooo cute!  They bounced around all over the place.  I really wanted to capture it on video, but I knew if I went inside it would break their concentration on the play so I just watched and smiled.  When they started ignoring one another I ran in for my phone, and for a toy. I did get a few pictures of the dogs playing together when I came back outside. They are blurry but still function as photographic evidence:

I bought Spiffy Penguin on a business trip to Colorado years ago for Otto.  It's made by Fat Cat toys, the same ones that make "Mean Kitty".  They are whimsical and fun, and they don't make the penguin anymore so it's my own personal collectors item.  I probably should've warned it of its fate... Because now Spiffy Penguin is an outside toy:

 Here's a short video of him playing with his new (now outside only) toy:

That, my dear friends, is dog joy. 

After the dogs settled back in I decided to go for a run myself.  When I was suited up and ready to go I saw Chopper looking at me hopefully.  One day, Chop-dog, one day we will go running together. I promise! We just gotta build that confidence up some more!

Got back from my run and Chris Isaak's "Dancing" was playing on my ipod. Well you can't just stop a good tune half way through, so I took out the earphones and let it play and invited Kolohe to do as the song suggests.  Kolohe loves to dance, so we finished off the song dancing together.  Chopper sat on his blanket watching us warily.  Not with fear, but more like I don't know what that is, let me keep watching.  I figured it was good modeling for him to see our interactions and happy play time.

We have full on dog joy!

Today was a good day for Chopper.  Greg got home first and took him outside for a bit.  Chopper was in a good mood, listening well, frolicking.  Excited about Greg's dinner LOL.  Now, we don't feed our dogs food from the table, never have, never will... but the point is Chopper was engaging with his environment instead of shutting down to it.  Nevermind the fact that Greg's dinner was irresistible.  An aside: I bought a cookbook on "Hot Dishes" when I was in Minneapolis a few months back.  Hot Dishes are basically casseroles, and a popular meal there.  They are often put together with easy ingredients, like canned soup.  This dish had: ground beef, cream of chicken soup, cream of mushroom soup, and tater tots on top, just to name a few ingredients.  See, irresistible!  Ok, aside over.

When I got home I spent some time with the dogs outside and witnessed full on dog joy with Chopper.  He must've run a dozen laps around my yard full force, coming right by Kolohe and I on each round.  I clicked for him, but he never stopped for a treat, too busy being in the moment.  I was just beaming, but not nearly as brightly as him. He wasn't full open mouth smiling, but his whole face was definitely in bliss mode.

In the house I did some clicker training. Choppers favorite treat seems to change periodically. Now he loves these organic dog biscuits that we already had lying around.  I've been sticking with the same ole, "Come here Chopper" and having him touch my right hand with his nose. Click, treat, move a little bit, then repeat.  I kept close to him today, didn't try to push him at all.  After the full on dog joy in the back yard I just wanted to extend his good mood and keep things easy.  Afterward  I gave him some space, left him to his SpongeBob blanket, which is his safe place. I may try some massage tonight, and see if he is receptive to that.

Bookending my day with the dogs

My work day is bookended with my dogs.  I wake up at 5:30 and go downstairs where I take them outside, feed them, and take them outside again.  Somewhere in there I try to do some clicker training with Chopper.  He was pretty sleepy when I got up this morning.  Sometimes he gets up when he sees me, today he sat there blinking his sleepy eyes as if to say "not without my coffee, Lady."  I roused him up and stayed outside a little extra with him in the morning.  He was in a pretty good mood so we did a little clicker training, I let him settle in, and then I cleaned his ears. If you've ever owned a dog you know they hate having their ears cleaned. It's probably the only time I've ever had a dog try to hide from me.  As much as I plead, comfort and treat, it's just no fun for them.  Well Chopper didn't hide, but he clearly wasn't enjoying himself, despite my treating.  So when Greg got up Chopper had hunkered down on his blanket and wouldn't move. Sorry Greg! No morning greeting for you.

The second half of my bookending is when I come home from work.  It's much of the same as the morning, only I have more time to spend with the dogs.  I spent extra time outside with Chopper again today, and watched him as he actually frolicked.  I started off with just a few clicker rounds and he just got so excited he started running around the yard, darting a bit.  I wish I could've captured it. I did capture him with his tail up outside at least:

When we went inside again and I did more clicker training, staying pretty close to Chopper to build up confidence and then I went into the next room. I read that the bigger the challenge the more you should treat, so instead of just a little nibble of treat, he got four or so pieces. He did such a great job!

The cutest part of the night was when I brought up his SpongeBob blanket from the laundry. You'd think he was being reunited with a long lost friend!  He immediately started playing with the blanket, and then laid down on it and went to sleep.  I have been careful to watch Chopper for signs that he is nervous, reading him for when he wants attention and doesn't. Well on the security of his favorite blanket he said he wanted his ears scratched.  So I did, gently while he fell back asleep.  Oh the simple joys of a dog!

Happy Valentine's Day

Today when I got home from work Chopper greeted me with a tail wag!!!!  It was a mostly tucked under anxious tail, but it was definitely a wag, and it was the first time I'd seen it. Happiest moment of my day.

Then later in the evening when I took him outside, tail went up immediately, there was some wagging and a bit of playing!  He saw a vine hanging above him, did a little play bow and then skipped around the yard a few times. Adorable.  Did a little clicker training, which is now easier outside then inside.

Kolohe is getting jealous of the attention.  Did her little "let me stand over top of you while you are laying down to assert my authority."  Chopper put up with it for a few minutes but then shook her off.  She tried again and he actually growled at her.  I had to tell her to leave him alone. 

Happy Valentines Day everyone!

I do believe we done got ourselves a huntin' dog

Greg and I took the dogs for a walk today. Chopper doesn't move around enough. He lies on his blanket most of the time, until we take him out in the back yard.  He'll stretch a half dozen times and he walks very stiff.  His fear is keeping him still.  So today we decided that we would brave some of the distractions of being outdoors and take him for a walk to get him some much needed exercise.  He had to walk up our hill and around a bend until we got to a trail in a wooded area.  It was amazing to see the transformation.  On the road he had the tail tuck and was not sniffing the ground much.  In the woods, tail went up to normal position, nose to the ground and less tense body. (I wish I'd gotten a picture, but we didn't bring our phones). He's used to the woods, and he likes it there.  Kolohe, being half golden retriever likes anything.  The woods back up to a park where we thought we'd take him for a tiny jaunt, provided no one was playing baseball at the time.  Well, the baseball field was free, but the tennis courts were being used, the basketball courts were being played on and Chopper shifted back to fear mode.  Tail tucked and he tried to bolt.  This is why Greg was given Chopper's leash, stronger hands. Whew, we kept him with us.  Back into the woods we went, tail went back to normal, sniffing resumed. I think perhaps Chopper was a hunting dog with his previous owner.  He clearly was in his element.  Of course the only hunting he'll get with us is perhaps a hidden peanut butter kong.

When Chopper came back he was feeling confident so we did some clicker training.  It didn't last long.  Maybe 6 repetitions and we watched him shut down.  He went to his blanket and we saw his eyes glaze completely over. I've never seen that happen before.  Like a canine dissociative state. 

Greg and I are going to try our best to get him up into those woods as much as possible.  It will be harder on work days as it won't be safe to go up there in the dark but we'll give it our best shot. Plus, I really enjoyed myself too. We need to find other trails in this area, low volume ones, to take him to.

Day 6: Back to school

So I'd noticed that our attempts to train Chopper to come to us on command had morphed into something else--he would come get the food and then leave and then come back again.  That wasn't quite the behavior we wanted, we don't want to train Chopper to go in circles, or to leave us, so I decided to work on shaping the behavior again.  So instead of me baking up a little bit each time, and giving him the opportunity to leave me and come back I'd go to the another part of the room and invite him to me.  I think it has taken away a bit of his confidence, as he no longer "knows" what the game should be. He follows along for a little bit, but then gives up quickly and lies down.  Today he came to me during the game a few times without me calling him first, which I didn't click and reward and he went and laid down.  While I want to encourage him to come up to us, I don't want him to think that every time he does that he's getting a treat.  We need to shape the right command and behavior.

It's sad to see him give up so quickly. I have to remember he has no confidence and this will take time.  It also makes me rethink what I'm doing, and second guess myself.  Am I doing this right?  I don't know, I'm going off what I'm reading and conversations with others.

I talked to one of the trainers at Petsmart yesterday.  I told him about Chopper and asked if he had recommendations. He suggested we take Chopper to their puppy training class.  It's offered on a week night with fewer distractions, and puppies, well, they come without any baggage they are just learning about the world.  He thought it would be a good environment for Chopper as he missed out on something crucial at that stage.  The trainer said he's also work in the clicker if we decided to take Chopper. I made sure the training was not  "corrective" and was positive reinforcement, which he said it is.  The training would be more about Greg and I learning, we took one 9 years ago with Otto and it helped us a lot.  Chopper is a bit of a different story so I think it would be helpful for us to learn again with a new filter.

Day 5: High Value Treats

It seems we found a treat with very high value: cheddar cheese.  Greg tried it with Chopper last night and said he really liked it.  Got Chopper to come to him from another room.  I witnessed it this morning outside.  We're trying to encourage Chopper to approach us, so we've been clicking and treating that behavior.  Well, outside amongst all the smells and sounds Chopper came over to me excitedly, got his click and cheese, then ran to the other side of the yard and back for another.  Until I'd run out of cheese. At one point he even got on his hind legs and put his two front paws on my chest with excitement!  And then got freaked out, which is good, we actually don't want to encourage that behavior. The point is, we have figured out a "high value" treat, which means we have a greater chance of motivating him to repeat a marked behavior.

We took Chopper to the vet yesterday. I was worried about the car ride, and taking him to a strange place, but he did great!  He stayed in the back of our SUV looking out the windows, no jumping around.  At the vet's he had some fear going through the front door but was fine once he was in there.  In fact, he seemed to relax a bit. Here he is in the waiting room:

I think maybe the vet's office reminded him of being at the shelter--his last "home."  He also found a female dalmation he luuuuuuuuved. He kept trying to go to her, and when he did his little tail would actually wag. It's the first time we'd seen that.  He did get a little over excited though, and peed on the bench Greg was sitting on.  Twice.  Oy.  I felt so bad, never had a dog pee in a vet's office before.  They seemed used to it though.  Our vet looked Chopper over, and he was pretty good.  She said he was very healthy, yay for a healthy dog!

Day 4: Chop-dog and Crumbzilla.

Today Chopper woke up with an upset tummy. It seems the new treats I got him yesterday didn't agree with him.  I could hear his belly gurgling from a few feet away, and he had no interest in food. When I got home he seemed more alert and when we went outside he explored the yard, with a little skip in his step.  Yep, a little skip in his step!  Not full on dog joy, but he was definitely experiencing something positive. Here's the neat part, he gets nervous going up the stairs and inside, but today he followed Kolohe up our 6 deck stairs without any work on my part.  Then he realized what he'd done and went back down LOL.  I tried to coax him back in, but he was sitting in his back corner shaking so I went inside to look for something completely delicious to clicker train with, well, as soon as I went inside he ran up the deck steps and inside to follow me in.  Wahoo!  And I've sent Greg to the store for some cheese we can cut into small pieces, and nitrate free hot dogs (thanks Joanna for reminding me those exist).

I started reading Karen Pryor's book: Reaching the Animal Mind: Clicker Training and What It Teaches Us About All Animals .  I'm hoping to build up my clicker training skills.  Right now I'm reading about how she started off by clicker training dolphins at Sea Life Park in Hawaii (in the 70's I think!).  I've seen the dolphin show there as the park is close to where my grandparents lived, it's completely impressive.  She also trained her hermit crab to pull a cord.  And a wild wolf to run away from her around a tree and back.  Amazing, right?  The whole premise is that instead of "correcting" an animal when they don't get the message, you "mark" a behavior with a click and then reward it.  It can completely bypass that fear part of the brain and since that is what's on overdrive with Chopper I'm hopeful it can make a difference.  That being said I'm figuring it out as I go along trial and error style.  I hope I can do it!


On another note,  I have a habit of giving my dog nick names, pet pet-names if you will--ha!  We sometimes call Chopper "Chop-dog",  like top dog, or hot dog.  He doesn't seem to mind, and it makes us happy to say it LOL.  Today I stared calling him "Sweet Prince" cause he always looks so demure when he's looking at us.  Kolohe also earned a nickname today: "Crumbzilla" for her obsessive hunting of the smallest morsel of food. We gate the dogs in separate rooms when they eat because when Otto got older and sick Kolohe would scarf her food down in lightspeed and the rush to Otto's bowl to push him out of the way to eat his food. No way she could've done that when he was in his prime, but dogs are opportunists, and she recognized his decline.  So Chopper being as timid as he is wouldn't stand a chance, thus the baby gates.  Well he takes his time eating, actually chewing his food and Kolohe slurps hers down, I'm convinced, without the food even touching her teeth.  When Chopper is done he turns around and looks at me like "now what".  Which is when I remove the baby gate and unleash Crumbzilla on the other room.  Not sure how much she thinks she'll get, Chopper is a hound dog with an amazing nose, but she goes for it like Godzilla against Tokyo.

Day 3: We're both tired

Day three with Chopper and I think we're both tired.  Not a whole lot of training today, but there is still a report to be made.

When I woke up Chopper was sitting up to greet me, not curled up on his blanket shaking like the morning before.  He ate his entire breakfast without me having to coax him.  And he went to the back door when I said "Outside".  Outside, he wandered around, did his business, and then went to a back corner and sat down, shaking.  He does this most of the time, and I just go up to him pull up on his halter a smidge to give some pressure and he will come with me.  I sometimes have to repeat it when going up the few stairs into the house and through the door.  The good news is he is reassured by my help.  That shows he's gaining some trust.  He has started to lean into my hand when I pet him, and he really likes ear scratches.

Today when I came home from work he was standing up looking for me as I came in the door.  So sweet!  We went outside and I did some clicker training.  Got him to come to me from about a foot away a few times when he'd had enough and went to his corner to sit down and shake. It was the first time I was able to do any clicker training outside with all the sounds and smells distracting. I reassured him back into the house, clicking as he went up the stairs and inside, but he wasn't interested in treats. 

Inside the house we did a little more clicker training, but he sat down pretty quickly.  I'm tired too, I think we were both relieved when it was done LOL.  I did, however, do some testing to see how he'll respond to massages.  From what I understand dogs that are high anxiety hold onto it physically which causes their muscles to tighten.  Especially the muscles on the back legs and hips (all that tail and bum tucking, I imagine).  So I just started to rub and massage his back hip and watched his face for his stress signs of lip licking and yawning.  Nothing, so I kept it up for a few minutes and he let his body rock with the massage and relaxed a bit in his head.

I also made a stop today to my favorite healthy dog food store "Nature's Nibbles." I went there a lot for our previous dog Otto as he was on a special homeopathic/holistic diet to treat his brain tumor.  I have to say, it felt good to go in there for a different purpose--this time I was looking for irresistible treats!  I figured the better the treat, the quicker Chopper will respond. Everyone keeps telling me hot dogs are the way to go, but I just can't make myself do it right now...all that previous work I did with the homeopathic vets really drilled down into me the dangers of things like nitrates with animals.  Maybe I'll get desperate enough to try one day, but for now it's all natural tasty little tidbits of healthy treats.

Here's a picture of Chopper greeting Greg when he came home from work.  He heard Greg come in the front and went to the doorway of the dining room to wait for Greg to come to him. 

Chopper doesn't seem to like doorways much.  I've been able to clicker train him through them only a few times.  Hmm, it might be the next thing I start working on.

Day 2: I'm learning

Today I learned that Chopper doesn't start off at the exact point he left off the day before.  We ended yesterday with a nice bonding moment, Chopper had gained some confidence and was approaching us. He had learned the cue for "outside" and willingly went in an out of the house without cowering.  This morning when I woke up I think perhaps he forgot all that stuff LOL.  He shook and trembled from his blanket when I came into the room. I had to leash him to get him to go outside with me again (he feels very safe on his leash).  And he was too nervous to eat.  After some time he ate a little of his food and then stopped. So I picked up his bowl.  Then he looked interested again, so I held it for him and he ate. Then stopped.  Finally, I figured out that putting it on his blanket was the safest bet of all:

He does love that blanket.

I wanted to resume clicker training after work, and that also didn't start off where it left off.  Yesterday I had him following me a bit at a time.  Today I had to start at the beginning. 

Step 1: find a really smelly cheese and break it into tiny pieces
Step 2: drop a piece on the floor in front of him and leave the room
Step 3: watch for when he tries it and realizes "holy moly that's good"
Step 4: sit on the floor next to him facing away and hold out a piece of cheese.  Click as he takes it.  Repeat a lot.
Step 5: keep repeating Step 4 but make him reach further for the cheese.  Repeat a lot.
Step 6: hold out cheese hand and when he goes to it click, but treat from the other hand. Repeat a lot.
Step 7: at this point he's hooked, start taking a step back, hold out no-longer treat hand for him to touch with nose saying "Come here Chopper". Click and treat from other hand.  Repeat until he's had enough.  Don't forget to treat Kolohe as she's sitting like a dutiful little soldier paying rapt attention.

Notice how he's touching my right hand? Yep, he's a good boy.  After this session he built up confidence and started to peak into the next room of the house.  Then he picked up a toy and started mouthing it.  Then he went into the next room and picked up a second toy and brought it back to his blanket to play with.  And Kolohe didn't even try to steal it back.

And as I'm writing this blog he just moved from his safe blanket and into the unknown living room!  Had to get a shot as Greg jumped up to click and treat :). 

So I'm learning about pacing, and what to expect.  He is teaching me, who knew?

Day 1: Bringing Chopper Home

Today we brought home Chopper.  I had to go alone without Greg as he was in a meeting.  Boy was that an ordeal.  Chopper was freaked out at the change in schedule already, I could tell when I took him outside the front of the building and to the parking lot he was very unsure.  Then I took him to the back of our vehicle.  A brief spark--he was excited for one split second--and then poof back to fear.  I couldn't coax him into the back of the car, even with treats so I ended up having to pick him up and put him in there.  I hated forcing him, but he had to get home, and I was without help.

Thank goodness it was a short drive because Chopper was all over the car.  From the way back of our SUV, to the backseat, to the front seat. I opened a back window hoping the smells coming in from outside would lure him to one place, but this scent hound was too keyed up.  Here he is in the front seat of the car (having just jumped from the way back) looking at the shelter as we drive away:

We arrived in my neighborhood and I parked up the street near a little grassy area.  Greg dashed home from his meeting to get Kolohe, our golden retriever mix, so we could have them re-meet on neutral territory.  Chopper, who had been docile on his leash in the shelter was pulling all over the place. Overstimulated in every way he was really having troubles.  I set my car alarm without thinking, the beep made him jump and try to run away.  Luckily I have strong arms and hands and held firm to his leash. 


The two dogs met up with no issues.  We walked them home. Chopper doesn't know how to do stairs and we have 6 or so steps to get into the house.  It took some coaxing but he made it inside.  The second we closed to door he went back to it, clearly not happy with this arrangement.  We took off his leash and gave him space.  He explored the first floor, going up to Kolohe here and there until she had enough and gave him a warning growl.  He speaks "dog" pretty well and left her alone after that. Before long Chopper had discovered a blanket we'd put out for him outside of a crate.  He settled into it and barely budged from it the rest of the day:

We tried to get him to take treats, but again, too anxious, and it's clear he shuts down when he's anxious.  I left him alone. Ok, that's not entirely true, I went into the kitchen and started to do dishes, softly singing.  He started to relax and I watched him from the next room, continuing to sing until his sweet head finally hit the blanket.  Is there anything sweeter then a hound dog sleeping on a Sponge Bob blanket?

I stayed home the rest of the day while Greg went to work.  Chopper has already picked up on the term "outside," which is were we where when Greg's car pulled into the driveway out front.  Chopper heard the sound and instead of fear, I saw another spark of excitement.  He trotted inside and to the front door to meet Greg!  Then of course quickly retreated.  Still, a good sign (and did it ever make Greg's day).

We worked some clicker training with Chopper, asking him to come to us and clicking and treating.  We were only a foot away, but after each click, I'd move back another foot and ask him to repeat.  When he had enough, he'd turn away, and then go back to his blanket.  Not long after as Greg and I were talking he got back up and came to us on his own, another spark in his eyes!  A quick pet he felt some confidence and started exploring a little more. the day ended with our infrared trashcan opening up as he approached, he got spooked and retreated to his blanket.  Then Kolohe tried to root around his blanket for lost treats as he was laying on it. He issued a low warning growl, she ignore him until we instructed her to back off.  Nothing aggressive on his part, I got the feeling he was discovering his own boundaries and voice.  Or he was ultra sensitive from the recent freak out.  Either way, it was a busy day with a lot of promise!

Kolohe is adjusting, but it is hard for her too.  She was definitely happy with all the treats she was getting (we were clicker training any positive interaction with Chopper), but later I saw her stressed and giving herself a time out, panting. We'll have to keep tabs on how she's doing, making sure that this stays a positive experience for both dogs.