A Call to Our Coach

Progression is going really well with Jackie.  So much so that I am starting to fantasize about her future education.  Certainly Jackie has demonstrated HIGH herding drive.  That can be challenging, but can be shaped into awesome results as well.  

In thinking about her foundations, and also wanting to share my happy news with a friendly ear, I reached out to an agility trainer that has helped me with decision-making for Gunner.  Robin Barber (a Karen Pryor Academy graduate and a Canine Fitness Trainer Fenzi Academy graduate) of Cowtown Dog Sports was gracious in giving me her time. I appreciated Robin affirming we’re on the right track with Jackie, and Robin agreed that official education can begin gradually.  Robin asked how Gunner is doing, and gave me some excellent advice which was: work with Gunner alone one-on-one as well as working with Jackie one-on-one.  This way Gunner will remain happy and feel valued (and trust me, he is HIGHLY valued) while not over-doing things for him in the heat by running around too much with Jackie. 

(As an aside, Gunner is under the care of a residency trained canine cardiologist [thank you Dr. Rebecca Fields Bennie for your excellent care!] for a heart condition which he now takes medication to slow the progression.  Due to that sobering reality, I have partially “retired” Gunner from full agility and other hard-core athletic endeavors.  Ironic that having a too large heart is Gunner’s downfall, isn’t it?)

Robin suggested that waiting to enroll Jackie in a small group class setting after several weeks of getting to know Jackie could be ideal.  My plan includes starting Jackie with basic obedience and building a solid foundation to progress into dog sports, with our thoughts on obedience and especially agility. For now I am continuing to capture desired behaviors with positive reinforcement, build value for a marker, and allow Jackie and me time to bond and establish an excellent relationship.

There’s an agility dog in there!

Pearls:

• A support system of people-whose-opinions-matter is a helpful resource; having a mentor is key to success
• Heart disease is a big fat bummer
• Continue working one-on-one with the established dog so they feel valued as well as working with the new dog
• Good ol’ operant conditioning is your friend

Early Days

It is clear that Jackie’s foster mom and dad have done a wonderful job with her, as she is already crate trained, house trained, leash trained, knows to wait until asked to go through doors and gates, knows basic commands, and her temperament around dogs of all sizes and life stages is well established.  The plan for Jackie’s first few days is to allow her time to decompress and get used to the new family and environment, with a deliberate focus on educating her where the accepted doggy toilet is and the basic house rules. Jackie has done brilliantly with no potty mishaps.  

Jackie’s first full day getting used to Rosco and Gunner she was very clear to them both that she does not suffer noodleheads to be rudely in her face.  A low growl was a good warning that she wanted extra personal space when Rosco was too exuberant.  Of course I am being extra vigilant in not allowing negative behaviors to progress (or even begin), and I am grateful Jackie is giving a warning growl and look (rather than escalating to a bark or beyond) which allows me to organically “change the subject” between the dogs.  Jackie’s foster mom has been an excellent resource in letting me know exactly what to expect from Jackie behavior-wise, so there have been no unwanted surprises.  

For now we are focusing on continuing to create a predictable routine for Jackie.  This includes consistent potty breaks, reinforcing with high value treats when she goes potty and saying “go potty!” to begin teaching her to relieve herself on command which can be helpful in a myriad of situations.  Mealtimes are on a set schedule, and I am allowing Jackie to rest a lot to decompress; I know she misses her foster family and will require extra time and patience to process everything that is happening in her life, so I am allowing her to sleep and rest quietly as she needs.  

We are inaugurating a daily pattern of waking up and going potty, feeding breakfast, playing with her new brothers and running freely outdoors, then going for a longer walk in the morning while the weather is still not too hot.  During the daytime we are foremost working on reinforcing good potty habits, and Jackie is already understanding if she goes to the backyard door to “ask” to go out she is allowed outside and high-value-reinforced for going potty.  

We have many small outdoor breaks and runs during the day; I have been unusually lucky in that the Texas weather has cooperated with my schedule and we’ve been able to go outside a good bit even during the daytime.  We give an afternoon snack (given as reinforcement for good behaviors and building value for a marker), then have time to rest and play again before dinner.  After dinner when the sun begins to set and it is not as hot outside we go for another longer family walk along the river trails and then come back home for a run in the park. Then we spend time decompressing at the end of the day, giving pats and belly rubs and continuing to build a mutual bond.  

I am allowing time and patience for us to build a relationship before I begin any actual formal education with Jackie.  In the meantime I am capturing specific desired behaviors, including looking at me while walking or playing, or coming to me on her own when off leash in the yard or park. In doing so I am also building value for my marker word by saying “yes!” and giving her a reinforcing treat. So far Jackie has only exhibited very mild interest in playing with toys, and no interest at all in tugging, so I will build interest in toys after she has had a chance to settle into her new environment and we have gotten further along in our process together.

Certainly Jackie misses her foster family, who did an amazing job with her.  Patience, love, a predictable routine, will help her acclimate:

Playing with and getting to know her big brothers:

Walking happily into the sunset on the Trinity River trails:

Pearls when establishing the new adoptee:

• Patience, patience, and more patience are key when adopting a new dog (and really patience is an excellent life skill to follow at all times with animals!)
• There are many benefits to adopting from a rescue, including the dog has already been in a family environment and there are many known factors about the dog’s personality, habits, and behavior
• Following a predictable routine, keeping things low key, all help a new dog to acclimate the first several days
• The focus for now is on capturing a few key desirable behaviors (correct potty habits at the top of this list); formal education can progress later