Set back

We went out last night. It has been a long couple of days for the guy because Thursday he got no walk! EEEEKKK. Not good.

1:30 am he awoke and had to go out. As I was walking toward the backdoor, I explain to him that he better really have to go. I open the backdoor and out the two of them run. As they were moving out, it suddenly hits me: skunk. Great. I IMMEDIATELY call them back in. They both were hardly off the patio, but they turned on a dime and came in. :) I then proceeded to get dressed, get a flashlight, and go out to get out the yard. The two dogs followed along happily on this adventure. Staying with me... As I requested until I was sure the yard was skunk free. Kasey peed. We went back to bed.

Friday evening after dark: I was out walking him. Two things I would do differently if I could have that walk back. I would have put him on the GL. He too hyped up about the walk. Secondly, I would have had him sit and watch the Boxer. Instead we tried to walk passed. Kasey lost it. Sigh...

OMG... we were walking!

It happened... Finally. We took a walk without the Gentle Leader. I have been periodically walking him around the court, without it, to work on heeling and not pulling on the leash. Tonight I decided to venture out into the rest of the neighborhood. We didn't go on the full 1 1/2 loop, but we went quite a distance without the Gentle Leader. Everytime he got to the right spot (loose leash and walking looking forward) I would click, and he would turn back for a treat. I also would click and treat heeling with attention. If he was pulling, I would stop. He did really well. I was so happy for him. We did have two dogs bark at him. One from inside the house... Easy for him now. The other was a dog outside in the backyard. He couldn't see it, but he could hear it. We kept walking. He would look toward the barking, and then he would look at me. I would click and treat. He was controlled. I was happy. He was too.

Together for the first time. 

Being a Rock Star!

We have had a lot happen in the last 24 hours, and Kasey has handled it like a dream.

First and foremost, the furnace went out. Yes, it is 18 degrees outside, and we have no heat. The first day we toughed it out at home. Day two, after it dipped to 40 degrees in the house while we were sleeping, we decide that we could not stay another night in the house. It is hard to ask people to take in 3 cats, 2 dogs, and 2 people, but our friend Cathy did. We went over after church Sunday night. Kasey and Holly were stressed. Moving form thing to thing... Panting. The cats were very stressed because Cathy has two cats of her own that were locked in the bedroom. Rescue Remedy was given to everyone including the cats. Grover wasn't even allowed out of his kennel until this morning because he was being so mean. He made Holly cry. It was cute and sad at the same time. Kasey didn't settle until it was time to sleep. He climbed up on the bed between Bryce and I and passed out. By the way, we don't allow him in the bed, but he knows how to take advantage of a situation. The only concerned was that he did not want to relieve himself outside. I tried taking him out with the gentle leader and then without. No difference. I brought both of them home around 7 am. Bryce and the cats are still there sleeping while I try to warm up the house from 42 to about 52. :)

Kasey's other Rock Star moment was at Narnia. Two of the trainers meet Kasey and I there on Sunday with their dogs. Kasey got to play with them, and then we started working with him on his leash in the presence of the other dogs. He and Nash walked opposite ways around the room. Anytime Kasey looked at Nash and then at me, I would click and treat. He did really well. No freaking. Kathie suggested we do it again, and then add another dog. I was happy for Kasey because he didn't loose it which is very stressful.

Running with the dogs

I understand why people don’t run with their dogs. This takes quite a bit of training. I didn’t understand this before I got a dog and foolishly thought this would be a great way to exercise my dog and feel safe when I am out at night. Holly runs with me, but she doesn’t enjoy it. It is her job. She prefers to sniff, and she can’t do this while we run. I do find it helpful if we walk for about ½ hour first, and then start our run. I have though for quite awhile that Kasey would be much better at running because he just wants to move. He wants to go FORAWRD and FAST! I was home from school today, so I decided to be brave an attempt a run with him. I wear the treat bag and the clicker. When he is in the heel position (head at my left knee) I click and treat while I am slowly jogging. Speed with come with time. I am trying to shape this behavior. When we started out, I was worried that we wouldn’t make it to the end of the black without both of us wiping out. He kept going around my back (silly herding dog) and cutting me off in front (stupid dog). I tripped and stopped a couple of times. I did have the gentle leader on him. By block two, we were much better. This is the blessing of the clicker. Every time he was in position- click and treat- because let me tell you that after a coup0ld of blocks, “good boy” wouldn’t have made it out of my mouth. Overall I am pleased. It wasn’t as easy as with Holly, but he isn’t as old or as solid on the leash.

Similarity between dogs that cause Kasey to “lose it”

I have decided it is not shape, color, or size. I really think that it depends on how the dog is acting. If the dog is controlled, Kasey is eager to meet the dog, but manageable. If the dog is barking out of control and running around or struggling toward Kasey… Kasey loses it. I am clicking and treating him when we walk past yard that have barking dogs… if he: doesn’t bark, doesn’t flail, or doesn’t hop around. Right now I think it is okay if he speeds up a little, looks at the dog, or looks at me, but makes NO SOUND! Do you agree that these are treatable behaviors right now? He seems to do much better if we keep moving, so I don’t stop. If I just have Holly, we stop because I want her to learn to remain calm when others are barking. Kasey is no where near this point.

Barking 24/7

So I decided that this is just too much for Kasey. To ask him to walk like a "normal" dog when he sees another of his kind is unrealistic at this point, so I have divided the issues. Motion and noise. Great, hu? Well, the motion is common in Border Collies, and to be honest, that is where Kasey freaks out in class. Whenever dogs start to move, he looses it. The barking is interesting. I got a Sound Sensitive CD (Thanks Terry Ryan... I used this for our vacuum problem a couple of months ago) that is full of dogs barking. Let me just say that it is now at volume in which I can actually hear it. I have it playing in the kitchen. The first time I played it Kasey got all excited and jumped Holly to play. That put and end to that. She wasn't having any part of that stupidity. Then he would sporadically bark. Once we got a day of no response, I turned up the volume... a couple of levels. We started at 10, 15, 18, and now 20. It seems loud to me now, although it isn't. Do I think it is working? Hard to say. I think he is better when we are out and he heard a dog barking, but if he can see it, he's done for.

A clueless little dog

Today, because of lack of time, I had to walk Holly and Kasey together this afternoon. The snow was falling in big, huge flakes, so this always makes them excited. Kasey had to stick his head/ body into every bush he could reach while we were out. Because of the snow, no one was out even though it was 1:30 in the afternoon on a Sunday. I was thankful. Toward the end of our walk, a car pulled into a driveway. I would say we were about the width of two streets (four lanes) away. Kasey and Holly both watched the little Toto-looking dog jump out of the car. It had no idea we were watching it. Naturally because I live in the neighborhood of the stupid people, it was not on a leash. I stopped. All three of us watched. Kasey was not whining or barking. I turned around and encouraged both to follow me as we backed away from the dog. Holly came quite willingly because she sense a treat coming. Kasey came but kept looking over at the dog. Still no whining and no barking. He was interested. I seriously could live with this if response for awhile if this is how it was EVERY time we saw a dog, but it isn't. I think what helped in this case was the distance and the fact that the dog had no clue that we were so near.

When we got to the corner that I have come to call our Charybdis and Scylla. The beagle was out. This is the dog that we can handle the best. There is a huge privacy fence, but naturally it is accompanied by the beagle bark. At the very back of the fence, the dog can fit its nose under the fence. Both Holly and Kasey react. Holly just speeds up and puts her nose to the ground. Kasey starts to speed up and keeps looking over at the fence. He feels like he is going to lose it, but he doesn't. I am just glad there is no barking or flailing.

Trying to be good

We had a wonderful walk. We made it past a number of barking dogs in which Kasey turned from them and looked ahead. I was so happy for him. Additionally, I was able to stop he numerous times and ask for a "down, stay" or a "sit, stay." We also worked on "heel, look at me." He was doing great, then about 2 houses from our street, on the other side of the street, he saw a man walking his black lab. He went crazy. I said nothing because really he wouldn't have heard me. I just drag him forward while he flails and attached his Gentle Leader. Nuts.
Kasey's idea of redecorating

Gentle Leader Notes

1/26: First walk with gentle leader.

We went for a solo walk around 4 pm. He would stop and paw at it. If I said “leave it,” he would sit and wait for a treat, which I gave him. He whined when he saw other dogs, but he definitely was under more control. No barking. He was fine with it as long as we are moving.

1/27: Man and loose old dog.

Late night walk. Up ahead a saw a terrier out. It is old and the people just let it out the front door to wander until it wants to come back. Holly has had no issues with the dog, but I am worried about meeting dogs now. I want to work on this, so they both learn how to politely meet other dogs while on a leash. There was also a man walking towards us. I opted for a turn around and walk the other way. Both dogs saw the man and the dog. I was dragging both of them. I got about 3 houses away from the terrier (it had no interest in us), and I walked to the middle on the street to get away from the man. It was somewhere during all the dragging that Kasey had pulled his Gentle Leader down around his neck because I realized that he was way stronger than he should have been. I was able to fix it once there were no distractions, and we made it home.

1/28: Loose puppy

Our neighbor does not believe in containing their children or their dog in their yard. I am not the only one on the block that has a problem with this, but they don’t speak English, so it continues to be a problem that we all are living with. Anyway, this morning everything was going beautifully (doesn’t it always before all heck breaks loose?), when their front door opened out came the man, women, and their Poodle puppy. This is a friendly dog, and due to their lack of containment, is very social with other dogs and people that walk by. I am still worried about Holly and Kasey meeting dogs while on their leashes, so I told them to leave it, and we kept walking. We were across the street. They interested but walking with me. I was feeling good about that. Then the dog ran across the street. I yelled at the guy to not let his dog near mine. The dog came anyway. I started dragging my dogs away. Kasey was whining, but he had to come because of the Gentle Leader. Holly was fighting me. Both were running little circles around me, and the dang puppy was FOLLOWING us! There was no barking from anyone, but I was really struggling. Do you think I should have let them meet this dog? Am I doing the right thing by preventing them from meeting other dogs while they are on their leashes or am I causing more problems?

1/ 30: Saw a rabbit
We were walking late. We neither saw nor hear any dogs, but we saw rabbits. He speeds up, looks at them, and then starts to run forward. Not toward the rabbit, but toward whatever direction we are headed.

1/31: Am walk… more rabbits
Consistency! He did the same thing. No barking!

1/31: Rabbits and Boxer and gang of boys
Same with the rabbits. I think I am okay with this for now, and he is demonstrating the same behavior more than once! He saw a Boxer down the street… about 3 houses away. He responded the same way he did about the rabbits! J I hope he does this again. Later in the walk, we saw a gang (4 in winter coats) walking on the opposite side of the street from us. He started to move around, and I could tell he was getting excited. Watching them and moving forward (again in the direction we were going not at them), so I picked up the pace to a trot until there was a little distance. Anytime he turned around to look, I said leave it. He and Holly did well I think. Some trotting, but no flailing and no barking.

2/6: He seems to sometimes go into panic mode if we see certain dogs. There is that crazy

2/7: Little Mean White Dog and the first run
This little dog upsets both Holly and Kasey. Even from across the street (which is usually out of Holly range for reacting) it runs the fences and barks. This illicit a response from both Holly and Kasey. Kasey barks and attaches his Gentle Leader, while occasional stopping to look at the dog. He completely ignores me. Holly runs back and forth with an occasional swipe if Kasey gets to close. Freaks.

Kasey resting from the Christmas fun. 

Freaking Out on a Wednesday night

Kasey had obedience class last night. Sometimes he is a rock star. It really a depends on how class starts for him. If he looses it, he is done for the rest of the class. The rest of the class was working on walking. He can't get out and walk with everyone else because he is too excited. We had him partially screened, but the motion sets him off. I ended up having to take him out of the room.

Asking him to go from where he is to where I want him, which is to not be so reactive to other dogs, is a huge jump for him. After talking with the trainers, who are my heroes by the way, I think we are going to try to break this down into two separate issues: noise sensitivity ( specifically barking) and movement. This the help of a CD with dog noises on it, I can easily working on desensitizing him to the barking dogs. I hoping this will just leave the movement, which is a common Border Collie issue. Individually I think each issue is manageable. Together this is quite the challenge.

As I write this, I have the barking CD playing. It is on volume 10, which is very low for my player in the study. Kasey is baby gated out of the room because this room is the safe place for the cats. He sometimes barks because he can hear it. It is so quiet that when the heat goes on (because it is 18 degrees here today!), neither he nor I can hear it. Holly is ignoring the entire thing completely.

Meeting Holly

The foster home that Kasey came from had very calm (for Border Collies) dogs. A male and a female. The female was there when Holly was fostered. I had taken Holly back for visits many times, so she is fairly comfortable at the place. The way we introduced them was in the backyard and off leash. Kasey does not “lose it” if he can meet the dog and if he is off leash, or at least I have never witnessed it. When I introduced him to my friend’s lab (Kasey’s one play buddy), it was off leash in her backyard.

The first time they meet they played chase. It is Holly’s favorite game. She did correct him for jumping on her because she doesn’t like to wrestle; Kasey does. He has won her over, and they do wrestle now.

Second time we meet was the day we brought him home. They were fine. I drove them home separated: Holly in the backseat, and Kasey in the way back where they both ride together now.