A new Member of the Family

[Daisy]

The new term started last week, and one of the big hurdles with Eva is getting her to walk 'with' me, not just alongside. She has learned to walk calmly on a lead (sometimes!) but to her I am still the pest at the end of the lead and she mostly ignores me if I want her to change direction, change sides, slow down or speed up etc. Last night there was only Eva and two other dogs in class (everyone seems to be sick or their cars are!) and the trainer took the opportunity to try and push Eva on a bit. The other 2 dogs were lying on their mats in the centre of the room and I had to walk round the outside with Eva off lead and not giving her any instructions. The trainer walked behind her ready to sort her out if she broke away from me. A couple of times she did go her own way and had to be yanked back, and at one point she totally froze between the other two dogs. I was about 3 feet in front and the trainer was just to her side between her and the closest dog. What she should have done was keep up with me, but she just sat there, glued to the spot. It took er a while to move again! But after that she did stay a bit closer to me. We did a couple of other activities off lead too and she did the flyball game without any verbal instructions.

So, we're hoping she's starting to realise that she needs to look to me or OH to keep her safe and out of trouble. Time will tell.

The class over-ran massively and I didn't get home till 11.45 (the trainer is amazing - if it's helping a dog she just ignores the time) and our street lighting is very dim. I opened the door to let Eva out and instead of waiting for me to tell her to jump out she shot past me, with me hanging on to her lead - chasing a cat which I hadn't seen!!! Grrrrr .......

[Gemini]

I think she is progressing Daisy. It does sound as though the training classes are going well. Naughty dog chasing the cat and yanking you along with her though!

What a late night for you, after a childcare day. You are amazing Daisy! xx

[Daisy]

Gem - I am always tired on Wednesdays! I always think I've got more energy than I have - I never learn!!!

[Daisy]

Well last Tuesday's class was Eva's best ever! She was off lead for a lot of the activities and was very calm and kept looking at me for help or instructions. I was absolutely delighted! Then today we took her to the paddock. It was windy, but no worse than some other days. As soon as we let her off the lead she went into overdrive mode (not unusual for her), then she spotted a man pushing a wheelbarrow the other side of the fence, on the Forest. (There allotments nearby). She got really excited a ran up and down by the fence. We called her back but she took no notice and I could see she was very excited/agitated. As the man got to the corner there was a lady and two small dogs coming from the opposite direction and as they passed each other Eva started to chases after the dogs. She didn't bark, but was running up and down and even tried to jump the fence at one stage. She completely ignored me and OH calling her, so when I eventually caught her we put her in the car for time out, and to calm down a bit.

We'd arranged to meet DS2 and family there for Cooper to have his first run off lead. So we did that with Eva still in the car. He was brilliant - even obeying GD2 when she called him from the far side of the paddock. Eventually we let Eva come back in and they played together, but she got so excited we were worried about Cooper getting hurt and put her back in the car. They're fine in the house, so why is she so manically excited when we're out! Thankfully there was no aggression (and never has been) but he's just a puppy and she wasn't allowing for that. OH and I were both so disappointed with her today.

[Gemini]

Oh that's a shame when she was doing so well Daisy. It sounds as though Eva just got herself totally overexcited and couldn't calm down!

[Daisy]

You're right, Gem. She's like an over-excited toddler with a sugar rush - but she's 24 kg of muscle who doesn't know her own strength!

[Daisy]

Training continues to have its ups and downs. Last night Eva did really well.

I'm much more confident now with her off lead in class. After an initial walk round on lead the dogs lie on their mats while the owners walk round and she stays there no trouble. We then have to leave them and walk out of sight into the kitchen, and they have to stay on their mats. She's doing both these 'sit-stays' reliably now. Then we drag the mats into the centre of the room and the dogs take it in turns to walk first right round the room, then round each dog in turn. She's been walking round the room off lead for a while now, but last night for the first time she walked round all the individual dogs. She was a bit hesitant and didn't stay as close as I would have liked, but she did it.

When it came to flyball (which she loves!) she did it once with me running alongside of her holding the lead, then I stayed at the start and sent her down the course off lead, and called her back! The machine at the end dispenses treats rather than a ball, and I'd put two treats in and she caught both of them in the air! She was so pleased with herself.

On Tuesdays she spends the day with Cooper the puppy so she's tired by the time we get to class, but in a way, I think this helps.

Cooper is now bigger, stronger and heavier than Eva (and he's only 6 months!) so she gets tired playing with him more quickly. Cooper is learning that when she goes in her bed that's it - game over. It's a learning process for both of them!

[Daisy]

It's a while since I've looked back on Eva's progress (or lack of!).

She continues to be hard to read. Yes, we've made progress. Her heel work in class is generally more reliable, but just over a week ago she suddenly seemed to be ignoring me. Not just in training - in the house, and things like getting in and out of the car. She wouldn't make eye contact and was nervy and jumpy. She didn't seem poorly - she was eating normally and there didn't seem anything wrong. And of course we were going away in the caravan. She had been totally doolally at training on the Tuesday night, really didn't want to get into OH's car on Wednesday (because he tried to put her in from the 'wrong' side!) and was generally not behaving well.

So we decided we'd give her a very quiet time while we were away. There were a lot of dogs on site, and most of the time she was reasonably ok, although she did want to go to some of them. We took her to the pub one night and after a few minutes she settled down under the table and stayed there. But she wasn't really 'herself' It was hard to put my finger on what was different, apart from her being jumpy.

This Tuesday I took her over to play with Cooper until lunch-time when OH came and collected her, and suddenly, she loves me again! She did well at training and it was nice that there were only 4 dogs there - there are usually 6-8 in the advanced class. The difference in her is very marked and she seems to be taking more notice of me again. I've no idea what affected her so much - she is still an enigma!

[Clover]

Daisy I suppose dogs can have their off days like any intelligent creature. It’s the same with children when you can just sense something is not as it should be It shows the special bond you have as other people probably wouldn’t notice anything amiss. I’m glad Eva seems back to her old self.She certainly keeps you on your toes.

[Gemini]

Perhaps she has decided to buckle down for the new term and Try Harder

[Daisy]

Clover - yes, they are often like children! Even the trainer says she's not an 'easy' dog, but she's never boring!

Gem - I hope so or her end of term report will be dismal!

[Daisy]

Clover - yes, they are often like children! Even the trainer says she's not an 'easy' dog, but she's never boring!

Gem - I hope so or her end of term report will be dismal!

Eva's end of term report is better than we could have hoped.

Next week we will have had her for 3 years! It seems hard to believe, but last night the trainer and I were looking back at how she was when she first started classes. She would try and tow me across the room and took no notice of instructions or anything. The only way we could stop her eyeballing and trying to get to the other dogs was by constant feeding - tubes of Primula cheese were essential equipment!

Last night she did the best heelwork ever, all off lead. What's more, even I felt confident that she would stay with me.

Even better, Eva and Cooper were playing in their garden yesterday, and I could see Eva was getting a bit fed up with Cooper because he was 'in her face'. I could have called Cooper and I know he would have come to me straight away, but I called Eva instead. She stopped playing, looked at Cooper and then at me and came running over to me. This is the first time ever she's willingly left another dog to come back to either OH or me. It felt like Christmas had come early!

So, she still has a lot to learn, and I know it's sometimes two steps forward and one backwards, but three years of hard work are starting to pay off. Hopefully!

[Plantaholic]

That is amazing what you and Eva have achieved, she certainly found a good home.

[Daisy]

Plant - I think we've found a good dog, despite all the ups and downs. She's so loveable.

[Gemini]

Well done Eva And you Daisy, you have worked so hard with her !