Things with Banjo are going really well...except for the howling when we leave. We're guessing that a lot of it has to do with the transition and that it will die down, but it's incredible how much he howls and how loud he howls.
I asked Autumn's advice (I am forever grateful for her insight and willingness to help!) and she suggested a Kong (a kind of ball thingy that you stick treats inside of and it takes quite a while to get the treats out) and breaking him in slowly. She suggested giving him the Kong and leaving for 30 seconds and waiting until he has stopped howling for 2-3 seconds, then coming back in and taking away the Kong. Then repeating it while lengthening the time. This is the perfect opportunity to utilize the counter conditioning and desensitizing article she sent me (I didn't even think of that!). It is going to be a long process, but we will persevere! I just hope the neighbors will continue to be understanding, or stoned in the case of one individual.
On a positive note, he did extremely well at Petco. He didn't bark, he was good on the lease, and he didn't try to pick anything up off the shelves. He was perfectly content to sniff around. Since he was so good there, I took him on a mini hike where the parkway meets Summit. We are definitely going to have to practice hiking before we go somewhere challenging!
I'm eager to learn more, plain and simple. There are so many aspects of this world that I have no clue about, but am ready and willing to discover. In the meantime, I am enjoying my experiences and finding humor in almost everything I do (yep, I giggle a lot). This blog is a little slice of my twisted sense of humor and varied interests. Enjoy :)
"This is our home, free of human borders and boundaries, a single, integrated whole with a thin ephemeral layer within which life flourishes." - David Suzuki
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April
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- Lots of new yarn!!!
- Allergy season is here
- Pictures of Banjo
- Things are going better
- I'm apparently all over the place
- Tough decision - that is now not final
- Stressed out, but hopefully dealing with it
- A couple of pics
- Banjo the crazy dog
- Good boy
- First seven hours with Banjo
- Banjo the Beagle
- Lots of biking and other stuff
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April
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3 comments:
Kim still getting stoned regularly?
Kongs are great!!! We used to fill our kongs with layers of kibble, nonfat yogurt, applesauce, peanut butter ... basically anything relatively healthy and doggie friendly and then freeze them. If Banjo doesn't get the idea right away, start with just loose kibble and kick it around for him to show that things fall out. Then work up to peanut butter and so on.
Other great food toys we've found are Leo Toys (http://www.caninegenius.com/index.php), Twist 'n Treats (http://www.premier.com/View.aspx?page=dogs/products/behavior/busybuddy/twistntreat/description) and our FAVORITE is this kibble ball (https://store.petsenseoutlet.com/busy-buddy-kibble-nibble.html).
We've also used a couple training protocols for getting dogs to relax when left alone and to somewhat desensitize to distractions.
This one focusses on departures:
http://home.gci.net/~divs/behavior/bemod_depart.html
This one is more involved but kinda fun.
http://home.gci.net/~divs/behavior/appendix_b.html
Other ideas that work well during this process is working on being able to leave a room without the dog following and not paying much attention to the dog when coming and going - very no-nonsense.
And then of course they also just need time. Walter barked during work for 2-3 weeks after we just moved ... and is still being noisy when we leave on the weekends. We STILL regularly give him food toys, don't make a big deal about coming and going and exercise him as much as possible. A tired dog is a good dog!!!
Hope this helps!!! Can't wait to see more pictures!
Thanks for your great advice!!!
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