Free Shaping and Uncomfortable Situations

Trying to keep the post updated!

Continuing on the trend from last post.. barking. Our new approach is clicker training. Al  though we have been using clicker training since puppy-hood, we haven't really try to incorporate it in our "barking training". Also, we have used it while luring/helping Tjido into the behavior we want, ie: sitting, lying down etc.

As you know, we do training on saturdays with the animal shelter.  We had asked for help with the 'reactivity on leash' and we got 2 personalized training sessions! Yesterday was our first one :) and we learned about free shaping with clicker. The idea is to get Tjido's attention in walks, as they told us that he basically ignores us to the max outside. This is how it looked like:

Aim: Dog has to touch the tip of target stick.
1. Stand still with treats and target stick - wait for dog to look or make contact with target stick. Do not say anything!
2. Click for wanted behavior. Be patient.
3. Look for 3 repetitions.

Basically Tjido was barking, sniffing.. whatever. He did touch the stick once on the right spot, which we thought it was coincidence.. but after a whole interval again of being a teenager, he did it again and again. The trainer said he knew exactly what he was expected to do, but just couldn't care less.

Exercise 2- Aim: For dog to make eye contact.
1. Stand still, do not say anything.
2. If dog starts finding things to do, move a few steps and stop again.
3. Click for wanted behaviour.

This was of course much more difficult, but he did make eye contact after quite a while.

We have repeated this exercise at home. At home it is easy, outside with little distractions as well. But this will certainly be a looooong process... Next saturday we will do the next step I guess.

After our training we walked our typical loos-leash route through the forest, and while we sat on a bench for Tjido to drink water, a german shepherd approached us, but basically threw Tjido on the floor. He submitted automatically but when wanting to stand up, the dog went at him again. It was actually quite scary, maybe the 1st time he has really been 'attacked'.. Nothing mayor happened but it was certainly a surprise to see a loose dog like that.

Then today, after the doggy park, we saw again a german shepherd and Tjido cowered behind us. I hoped that if they could sniff each other it would be a pleasant encounter, so I didn't think anything when he approached us... oh how I was wrong. Seriously, a big coincidence, but the dog attacked Tjido as well!  The owner couldn't control his dog so he went at it another 2 times and well.. we didn't know what to do but try and stand in between.

So just to add the cherry to the cake, on our final walk, Tjido as always saw a dog and barked at it. The woman stepped out of the way, but then she shouted at us. I couldn't hear what she said because of Tjido's barking, but I understood she was warning us that if our dog would bite her it would cost a fine of 100 euros. I shouted back that our dog only barked, she responded "yeah, but he bites mine as well".  I thought she was being quite rude.

But Joost heard clearly that she was blaming us for a bite dog, and that it had cost her 100 euros... We had NEVER seen that woman or dog in our life, and Tjido has NEVER attacked a dog.

Since we were confused we walked away, but we now feel in a way guilty and annoyed. I wish we could have talked to her, but with a barking dog, she wouldn't have appreciated me coming close. I assume we will meet her again sometime, but yeah.. I feel bad that he is sometimes regarded as "aggressive" because of his barking, when actually our 2 dog attacks have been by non-barking dogs (which i know has nothing to do with aggressive or non aggressive, but there's an irony).

To end this post in a more positive note, he is starting to shed, so our next post will be all about shed & hair and no barking ;) Oh yeah! And our Icelandic Sheepdog magazine chose our picture! HERE I am looking forward to make more summery pictures of our little fluffy monster!

PS: I hope no GS owners are annoyed by this post. I really believe it was coincidence that it was the same breed twice. 

Leash Reactivity and Easy Walk Harness

Ah yes, the dreaded post..

Well as you know, as many Icie owners, barking is one of those issues...
As I have explained before, Tjido is very much reactive on-leash, and since his puberty this has escalated.

It is annoying in the sense that you can't pin the real reason. He is certainly not agressive, since when you close the distance between him and anther dog, he basically goes into "nice to meet you mode". He is not scared or anxious since he really wants to run off to that other dog. So we asume it is just his way of letting out his excitement and being all "HEY YOU! Wanna play?!" or "LOOK AT ME!" shouted at very high pitched levels that really make me want to crawl under a rock.

Our main concern is the fact that he gets in a certain "tunnel vision" that I have also mentioned before. This makes distracting him difficult, and walking away means basically pulling him against his will and makes me feel terrible about it.

Therefore I bought "Fiesty Fido" by Patricia B. Mc Connell. I like her way of explaining things, although the training does assume you can train your dog on a distance from other dogs (sadly on our walks there are ALWAYS dogs). But we have started with the following training method:

1. When we see a dog (that Tjido hasn't), start giving Tjido treats - asking for eyecontact with "look at me".
2. When Tjido tenses up because he sees a dog, distract, ask for "look at me" and shower with treats.
3. Praise enormously when walking past a dog, with full attention of Tjido for treats.

If he goes bananas because we were too late, we don't give treats, and try to teach the command "silent". This works so-so...

We hope that by doing this "dog = treats", that he can clam down. I has been working, but it is a very slow process that gets ruined when dogs suddenly appear out of nowhere, or the neighbour walks him (this happened twice last week because I wasn't home - so we needed help).

I also believe that the "Easy Walk Harness" has helped us allot! It is a harness that clips on the front, which makes pulling annoying for the dog in a very animal-friendly manner. Loose leash walking has become very natural, so we're happy!

Well I hope to write soon! With real Tjido pictures haha!

The teenage dog

Ah readers!

Well sadly while writing this post, Tjido is yet again sick.. not as bad as last time but now the symptoms are: not eating and throwing up occasionally. And just to make it a bit worse, he found a chocolate in my bag and ate a piece of that.. so yeah, you know..

But today I want to tell you about our teenage dog.
Yesterday Tjido became 7 months old! And well, already a few weeks ago we started noticing some "teenage" attitudes.. recall was terrible, his reactivity towards other dogs on-leash has very sharp ups and downs and he has found a "girlfriend" in the neighborhood (sterilized)... we will need to have the talk. 

Good Looking at 6 months!

Especially for recall we bought new amazing treats that he had never tried before and started playing the "hide" game, which is easy because we are two people. So we hide, call his name and he runs to look for us. He really likes this game! We have also been using a squeaky toy to get his attention and allot of praise and awesome treats when he come back. It is a work in progress but he's getting better. Although sometimes he comes reliably, but then runs back again full speed to the dog that is trying to leave the park.

We also started a "teenage-course" at the animal shelter close to our home. The first lesson was a complete disaster. Tjido could not stop barking! So we were sent to the other side of the field, got a more personal trainer and then at the end got the "so.. what traumatic experiences did your dog have as a puppy?"... we were tagged as the problem dog and problem owner! So we explained that we did exercise him, that he wasn't aggressive (this they actually tried out) and that he was just.. reactive. Part of the breed blah blah.

It was certainly annoying. The next week we decided to take a new approach and get there very early walk around and let other dogs get to Tjido first instead of us holding the 'tight' leash. This worked fine, and we have now refined our technique, by letting Tjido trot while we bike, for the last few meters. This extra exercise helps allot- although at the end of the lesson he's just digging holes and not paying any attention.

Slowly Starting to Walk/Bike

To tell you the truth, we have not learnt anything at the lesson. Since we are starting really basic, Tjido has a good background from the puppy course  (I think our teacher still gets surprised that the 'barking-dog' does follow commands). For us our biggest challenge is to:

1. Arrive
2. Be in the group- be part of the circle, keeping Tjido's attention on us and minimizing the barking.
3. Leave

"BORING! this dirt is so much fun!"

When we get back home we all collapse haha. Next post will be about Tjido's doggy friend! And hopefully his stomach ache will be gone by then.

Me wants cuddles.. 

Home Alone: Part 2

Hello hello!

I know I would write the next post about dog food, but I have encountered more people on the Facebook page of icelandic sheepdogs who are having issues leaving their dogs alone. Regarding barking specially. This is why I decided to continue this theme and show our progress (questions regarding anything are welcome, this is in the end a trail-error-amatuer owner approach).

So on the last post we were building up slowly. But after 30min-1 hour we started stretching it more. He only had 2 pee accidents but finally Tjido just slept after he ate his Kong, and judging from the video footage, he played with his toys a bit as well. We have been able to leave him for even 4-6 hours at night without a problem! (Finally being able to go out together on dinners and stuff!!!)

We take him out of course when we get back, but he tends to be very sleepy and just does his business and wants to go back inside.

Then one day we had to leave in the day time for a lunch date. Oh-oh... we did our usual ritual:
- Take him out for a decent walk
- Prepare a Kong
- Get our stuff ready
- Give Kong and leave without a fuss.

But he followed us to the door... and barked at us and whined. So I went for a stronger goodie: dry intestines/stomach (which he loves and it stinks enormously). But Tjido chewed it quickly still keeping an eye on us. So when we left he started barking! Joost considered going back inside, but I told him we had to let it go, we were filming everything so we would know if we went too far.

That day we left for 3 hours and came back. He just woke up :) on the footage it showed us he had barked for about 3 minutes before settling down and eating all his goodies, but this time on the door mat instead of his bed.

Since then he has been great when we leave, no matter at what time, although the kong keeps being essential. I guess it is a way of making a truce: "for your effort you get this amazing treat" and maybe it works as a good cue as well. He now knows we'll come back.

I hope we get more tips on the new "teenage puppies" classes, on how we can improve our method. Also the barking at other dogs outside has come back full-on and it it ANNOYING to no end.. He doesn't snap at dogs or anything but just barks his lungs out. When the other dog is close enough its all "ohhhh you're my best friend everrrr". I will keep you posted!

Picture taken at our local animal shop :) Tjido 5 months

Finally a tip for the day: Home made treat dispenser- milk carton!
Tjido loved it and was busy for quite a while haha! I have some footage of this, so I will make a video soon ;) but I herby post the original idea:

Home Alone

In previous posts I have told you how we had some 'issues' when leaving Tjido alone. First he would bark at us when we entered the toilet (and closed the door), or if someone left the house (me, Joost or who ever was visiting) and leaving him alone was unthinkable.

For the first two problems: well he got over the fact we closed the door of the toilet. But he will still wait close by for you to come out. When people left we gave him treats and praised him so he's now happy with people leaving the house, although treats are still in the picture.

BUT HOME ALONE! That was tragic.. for us.

We tried crate training, but didn't really work (today I know why..)
So when we finally decided to really make a schedule and get over our own anxieties, and we did the following:
(how we came to this method, I will explain below)

• Take Tjido for a nice walk so he can relieve himself, play & get tired.
• Back home prepare a Kong or a chewy thing.
• Turn on a recorder or a camera (we later installed the webcam to record)
• Leave the house for 10min. Come back without a big fuss. 

We repeated this 2 to 3 times a day. First few try-outs we gave him dry meat. When we came back he was still chewing, so it was fine. 

We then went to 15min, and had a small peeing accident, but no barking. We freaked out a bit, but decided to continue training and started using the Kong (as well as getting the video recording app on the computer). From 15 we went to 25 the next day. 

When we got to 30min we decided to keep this a few days instead of continuing increasing. We realized that he wasn't barking and he actually fell asleep. Again, after a few days we increased yet again to 40min- 1 hour and latest to 1 hour 15min. Second try on this ultimate record, he peed in the house again. But we now had footage! He looked quite relaxed playing with his toys, lying down and then he just had to pee. So yeah, his bladder is not that controlled apparently.

TIPS:

- Take a breath, make a schedule and take the big step! 

- Try and get a recorder, camera or whatever, this helps allot to assess your dog's behavior when you are gone and can help you relax as you can see when things go well (or bad..). 

- Remove the Kong from your dog when you get back, so he keeps longing for it and understands that it is a great thing that he gets when you leave/ are away.

- Read how to stuff a Kong properly; there are many recipes on the internet, and some as simple as peanut butter + kibble pushed hard and peanut butter to close it off.   

My biggest tip would be to get over your own anxieties. I read the very helpful book of Patricia McConnell I'll be home soon Her website. This helped me to understand that ours wasn't a lost case of separation anxiety, but just a very sensible dog that has to learn slowly how to be alone. It was through this book I realized why crate training didn't work either: Tjido likes his crate but not when closed, because when we closed it, we would leave the room. Now we know we should have added the kong and build it up from there.

I know that every dog is different, but that's why you should get as much information as possible. Also like Veronica pointed out, there are always facebook groups and forums or other ways to talk to more experienced people with your specific breed. In this case Icies are known for being cry babies when left alone. Follow your instinct as well, you know your dog best!

I am happy to report that Tjido does not bark when left alone, he has no signs of anxiety and we will let you know when we hit the following mile stone!

Things that are working for us: Part 1

Hello readers!

I'm sorry for the very late post! I have been quite busy but have found a spare moment to update you!

So we have sadly ended our puppy classes.. which is really a shame! We are now looking for a continuation, but many dog schools are very far from our house and we don't have a car. But we are continuing with training :) - I hope I can make a small video soon!

I think today I want to proudly say that Tjido is housebroken! We had some minor accident especially when lots of people come to our house and he gets very excited, and we tend to loose track of time. We trained him to "ring the bell" in order to go outside. In our case we have done this at the balcony, he likes to sit down and look at the cats and birds, but it also helps us and when he rings the bell we check the time and lead him to the door instead for a walk. It is working pretty well. I think when he can walk down the stairs and gets the "going out of the house/building" we will arrange a similar system.

We have made progress in the leaving him alone. With a stuffed kong, he has been relaxed for 15min while Joost when to do shopping and I sat outside in the stairs looking at through a webcam and my mobile (love technology). When he finished his kong he did walk to the door and made two solitary barks before lying down. I decided to go upstairs then in order not to push him over his threshold. So after a few rounds and increasing time, I think we will leave for a bit longer and keep 'recording' what he does... Sadly we are a bit bad with this training, since we are both spending so much time at home.

Finally after giving 2 baths to our dog, I can give some useful tips (I know you should not bath icelandic sheepdogs that often, but when he got to our house he was stinky as hell and the second time he fell into a pond...):

• To prevent the bath being slippery, I put in a towel. 
• Tjido was scared of the shower head, so the second time I used and old school, bucket and container to pour the water slowly. 
• Giving treats makes it a nice experience. 
• Making drying-off with a towel a game makes it fun and then relaxing for your pup -> dry blower was definitively too much. 

So even though I will not do this often after knowing more about their coat, if you were looking for apartment tips, voila! 

Tjido thought he could walk on water... 

I will stop here in order not to make huge posts! But I will leave you with a great toy tip: Get a plastic container, make holes and put treats/food inside = fun fun fun! 

Puppy Classes!

As promised, I took some pictures at Saturday's puppy lessons :)
We are happy with the one we found. It starts at 10am, its in the city (many are in some field out there- hard for us to get there on a bike...) and of course, positive reinforcement!

On Saturday it was our 4th lesson, and we  have 2 more to go! We are lucky that it's only Tjido, a Jack Russel and a Spanish water dog. So there are enough distractions but not too many! Our teacher is there with her cute dog Roef, a Friese Stabij, and he keeps a check on the little ones ;) one bark and they're back in their place haha.

I'm glad we can ask her tons of questions. She gives good tips, thing to read and ideas. The behaviors that the dogs have to learn are for us quite easy (not arrogant intended!) because since day 1 we have been doing our best to systematically train Tjido on obedience 3 times a day. This is because when we decided to get a puppy, we got all nerdy and started researching about everything haha. And well the famous videos of Kikopup are just very motivating!!! (What? You haven't seen them?! GO NOW)

But even though Tjido can do them, being there in a garden with more dogs makes it a new challenge! Yes, the first 2 times he barked and whined to no end in order to play, but now he doesn't bark so much and calms down easier.

In the subject of barking, I am happy to report that barking to other dogs on the street has diminished to acceptable levels: only barking when he hears other barking dogs, but no longer "tunnel-vision".

About the barking in the house before me or my boyfriend leaves: after some tips and ideas, I decided to give him a tasty-tasty chewy thing as I left, and even Joost went out the door. Tjido did-not-care! Yeah! We have decided this week to try it out with a Kong, both of us leaving at the same time and record him (I'm curious what he will do when he finishes the Kong and we're not there...) So thanks for the supporting comments on this issue. We are working on it! It's just hard when you hear millions of different versions of the "right" way to do it.

To end this post and not make it longer, I have subscribed to the "Icelandic Sheepdog Fans" on facebook :) And found an aunt and a cousin of our dog haha. Hope to see your comments on puppy classes and barking! 

Amsterdamse Bos

This will be a bit embarassing, but I have lived in my current home for 5-6 years and have been twice to the Amsterdamse Bos (a huge forest/park) which is less than 10min cycling from my doorstep...

But thanks to Tjido :P we now have been three times, and have decided to make it our weekly trip on sundays. He goes on the bike, so he can have the real walk in the forest.

We keep him on leash until we enter the forest path and leave the grass areas. Here he can go off leash and we train re-call with yummy stuff. But he is a good herding dog ;) keeps an eye on us.

Encountering other dogs has actually helped diminish his barking on-leash in our neighborhood, since in the forest he now goes, sniffs, and leaves. Or other dogs approach him, in most cases when he is very concentrates with digging. So he understands he shouldn't make such a fuss, or that's what we tell ourselves!

After we come back, the rest of the day he sleeps :)
And I must say that I enjoy these days the best!! The walk in the forest is incredibly enjoyable.

I made a small video the other day with my iphone and uploaded it to youtube (1st video ever uploaded haha) so I'm sharing it although quality is not awesome or anything.

I wanted to write about our puppy classes, but I would prefer to have some pictures to make it more fun!

We are also keeping track of the barking, we now have realized he barks for:
- Attention
- Frustration at 'smart' toys or training
- When the door shuts downstairs
- When one of us leaves -> which is worrying us as we don't know how to handle separation anxiety that well.

So this topic will be a completely new post! - Yay for more ideas to keep the blog going!

GRRRRR-ass!!!!