Abby is going to school

[MnM]

Abby has an appointment for an evaluation tomorrow. She has separation anxiety, is leash aggressive, and I'm convinced she could easily become a fear biter. We have been using the Dog Listener techniques and they are working really well for our other 2 babies, but I believe Abby and I need more help. We don't even have friends over because of Abby's issues - yes, I know it is my own fault. Willy and Charlee will begin attending daycare after their evaluations. I am confident they will do well, but they do need more socialization. I really hope this trainer can help us.

[TessieMom]

Sending lots of special training rays to you and to Abby. Tess was a lot like Abby and required several obedience classes and now agility to help her gain confidence and not be afraid of people. She was my fear biter and we are really doing so much better meeting new people now.

[MnM]

Thank you for posting that, Rena. It makes me more hopeful.

[kpm_tex]

Let us know how it goes.. Fingers crossed that all goes well.

[Joyce]

Hope everything goes well, don't be to hard on yourself, we could all use some improvements somewhere.

[Patt]

Fingers & paws crossed plus a few good luck being sent to Abby, I hope all goes well.

[doxunzX3]

We all have made mistakes with our pupperz one way or another. Some dogs just have a harder time adjusting and there isn't really any way to prevent it. Give yourself credit for all your doing to help her adjust better. Just remember 2 steps forward one back. But you will see progress as long as your consistent.
Are you sure there isn't any medical reason for her to be having behavior problems. I just ask it because Con has had aggression problems but I think it is do to other problems besides emotional things.

[MnM]

Abby's appointment was rescheduled, so we are going in this morning.

Here's another example... Once she is finally used to a stranger, they can simply walk out the door then right back in and we have to start all over. It's like Groundhog Day, but in seconds.

Anyway, she has an appointment with our vet the first week of August and I will chat with him about this problem again. You see, when I am not around Abby does much better, so it seems like it has been an Alpha issue - the vet and techs noticed this, too. I've tried the Dog Listener techniques to take over and she was responding at first, but then it all stopped.

[RocketMan75061]

I dunno but maybe if they are around you they your furkids feel they have to defend or protect you but when alone with someone like the vet they do ok am i right ? Just taking a shot in the dark..

[MnM]

Yes, that's correct. She is very protective.

Now, on to the session... I'm sorry it's very long.

We just returned from the trainer. Abby barked and shook like a little leaf for the first minute. Then, she growled if the gal moved and she continued to shake and stuck very close to me. She was not eating any treats offered by the trainer or me, so she was definitely stressed. We were there for 1/2 hour. Just before we were leaving, Abby took a couple of treats from the trainer and was sniffing around. She got about 15 feet from me.

I told the trainer everything I could think of. She asked questions about where I got her, what her parents were like, and how we did things at home - sleeping, feeding, interaction, etc.

She noticed Abby's physical flaws right away. They really aren't hard to notice. She told me that she is a product of bad breeding and some of Abby's problems are probably hereditary. She was pretty blunt about the fact that Abby will probably never be a social butterfly, but with time, she would probably learn to tolerate other people and animals.

She suggested private lessons and then a class for more socialization (family dog, agility, or tricks). She said she would not put her in a group class as it would only cause Abby a lot of stress - as well as me. She also mentioned a week training session. Abby would be there all day every day for 1 week, but would be home at night and we would have homework. She thought Abby would probably be very stressed for the first 2 days, but that the overall initial training time would end up being shorter. Of course, training never ends, but it's the inital hump she was talking about.

I have called my husband and spoke to him about the options. He is going to think about it and we will talk about it this evening.

[TessieMom]

Tess's first group obedience class was VERY stressful for her, but by the end of 6 weeks, she was much better. She tried to hide in a corner behind me -- so I made a point of being near a wall where she could not retreat further. We did several other classes and she improved each time. She finally allowed other people to pet her, but would not stray too far from my side. Her attention was always totally focused on me... until agility. At first (for about 4 weeks) she was the ideal agility dog ... followed me or did exactly what I said... then she developed confidence and independence... now I have the beginnings of a social butterfly!

[MnM]

Good news! We had another trainer to the house this evening. He worked with Abby and was here for about 1 1/2 hours. He was great - he even had Abby on his lap at one point. This is unheard of with strangers. Don't get me wrong, she was very cheeky at times. However, she responded quickly to correction even off the leash.

A couple of hours after he left, she began barking at the neighbor children and when I said, "QUIET," it happened. LOL She was quiet, I praised her, she went about her business, and the children next door continued playing.

She is allowed and has been signed up for group training beginning in August (it's a 6 week class). This gives us time to do more homework. Willy is signed up, too. Charlee is not - yet. We have another round of shots at about the same time, so she will have to wait. Charlee is already quite social, but will still go through the class.

FTR, we did go with Cool K9's and he was wonderful with them. He also included our entire family and that was very important to me.

[kpm_tex]

That's great! Is he from a different place than then gal you tried first?

It sounds like you have finally found some one with the right key to Abby

[MnM]

Yes, he is from a different place.

[TessieMom]

I would probably only do Abby this class and do your other dogs in different classes. If their siblings are there with someone else in the family, they tend to be distracted.