Belle is getting herself firmly established in our household! She is asserting herself with the other animals and her spot in in the hierarchy is firming up! I am happy to report we have had a “no dog fight” week! While Emma attempted to rescue Cat from Belle’s irritating behavior this week, nothing escalated. I reprimanded both dogs as did Carl. Belle and Emma both “stood down” and no one got upset over the correction! They did as told and took it in stride. Yes! Wonderful! Whew!
This week I have seen blatant puppy behavior from Belle! I think that is a sign of feeling safe and loved!!!! I am redirecting her and trying to stay one step ahead of her so she “chews” on appropriate things, etc. but she has done some destruction this week. I will be repairing both dog beds, Carl now has only one house slipper, and his tubing for his oxygen machine needed a fresh hose anyway! My souvenir, that Lois brought me from Iowa, was a stuffed toy shaped like an Iowan corn sprout. When I walked Lois out to her car, Belle got it off of the table and I heard her rip his head off as I came back into the house….. Glad I took a picture on it with his head still attached! Belle has very powerful jaws! In my reading about shepherds, they discuss the “bite”; discussing which dogs are worth training based upon their natural bite action. Belle has a natural “full” bite instinct so she would be selected for training. She uses her full mouth not just her front teeth! This factors into a psychological edge in training so this is probably contributing to her quick ability to learn!
No new commands this week, just lots of repetition! We are still striving to have a new experience every day. I needed to run some errands last weekend before going to “run the dogs” in Lois’s backyard but if I had to leave the dogs home and come back to get them, it’s an additional 12 miles round trip. Lois was agreeable to coming with us so we stopped and picked her up. Neither Lois or I expected the dogs to react with barking and growling when she entered the car! They stood down pretty quickly and then when we left Lois’s house without getting out of the car, they were puzzled (huh?). Lois stayed in the car with the dogs (AC on) while I hopped out and ran my errands. Lois gave them correction when they reacted to people walking by the car, etc. and after three stores, they were getting the idea to not react to people outside of the car. They were eager to run when we got back to Lois’s backyard! This was good prep session for the future if I need to leave them in the car for a few minutes; reinforcing them to to behave and stay quiet. Thank you Lois!
Belle and I are walking down the street and back often and I barely know I have a dog on the other end of the leash! I am very pleased with her progress. I give very little correction! The last two days, I have started taking both dogs at the same. Belle insists on being the dog next to my leg and she and Emma walk shoulder to shoulder. They are doing well! The first night we did this was not so easy! It was our first trip to the dog park and it was hot, muggy and I was tired but these pups needed exercise so off we went. We got out of the car okay but about 10 feet from the car, a young girl on a bike crossed our path and stopped ahead of us. She just stared at us for a minute and then asked if she could pet my dogs. Emma and Belle were standing quietly next to me. I told her no, she could not. She looked at me. I said “thank you for asking though. This is their first time to the park and they are uncertain about what this place is. In a couple of weeks, you can pet them but not tonight.” She studied me some more and then looking at Belle she said, “what’s wrong with your dog?” I replied that she had been born without one of her paws so she had an artificial foot. The girl stared at me again and I continued with, “she is from Tennessee and she just moved here to live with us”. She felt satisfied with that explanation so she got back on her bike and headed off. I had sweat running down my back and now both dogs are starting to sniff everything! Argggh.
The county park is a very large, new park and open only a few years. It has about 12 various ball fields, several recreation houses, exterior lighting on the fields, a large playground, paved walking areas around the perimeter and crisscrossing the interior, and one bodacious dog park with a large, currently dry, retention pond in the middle! This is a very nice place and it’s amazing that it’s in Umatilla since we are on the far end of the County!
I parked in the lot where I normally park but soon realized this was probably not the best choice this time because it’s a long walk to the dog park. The pups are not used to walking together, I am sweating and I have gnats flying around my face and the dogs are sniffing and crossing their leashes around my legs constantly… They are excited and full of unspent energy! I am drained and hot…. With the dog park in sight, I am relieved I will be able to let them run free but then my cell phone rings! I am not a phone talker so I seldom get calls. I stand still, pull out my phone and answer after seeing my daughter’s name on the ID. The dogs instantly wrap their leashes around me until I am like a mummy! My 20 something grandson is on the line….the slow talking one….! I tell him I will be home in a half hour and begin extracting myself from the leashes. When we finally get into the dog park, no one else is there and I let both dogs loose. They are sniffing like mad! When Emma poops, I get a bag and pick it up. I think Belle must believe I stole Emma’s poop because she heads for the far end of the dog park! She looks at me funny when I steal her poop also! She searched all the far corners of the fence before coming back to me worn out! When I leashed them up, no one was sniffing anything anymore and they were “dog” tired heading back to the car! I think they had a great time on this adventure! Neither dog had barked or growled at anyone in the park. Good job! This first trip for Belle at the dog park had no other dogs present except Emma which I think was fine for a first trip.
Growing up in a large family, I understand the dynamics of irritating a sibling! I told you last week that Belle and Cat were getting along well. This week, Belle has been focusing on irritating Cat and strangely, Cat has allowed Belle to irritated her! This is very un-Cat like behavior! Wednesday night, Carl had taken Lois and I out to dinner and when we got home, it was about to storm bad so the dogs didn’t get much exercise that evening. This was not a good thing… Thursday, Belle started irritating Cat all day! Carl was exhausted with all the drama and this is the day Belle also chewed the oxygen hose in half….! Even after visiting Lois’s backyard and walking up and down our street a few times, Belle still had energy Thursday night to pursue the cat…. I was getting a bit concerned because the potential for Cat to get hurt living with two large dogs still exists… The day ends without a bad incident, however.
When I got home Friday night, I took Belle up and down our street right away to burn off some more energy so the house would be calmer while I got everyone their evening treat, made our supper, etc. While Carl and I are eating supper in his bedroom, twice I have to stop and get Belle and move her away from Cat. Just when I decide that Cat needs to leave the room until she gets her big Kitty pants on, Cat begins methodically searching the boxes under Carl’s train table and ignoring Belle. Her search intensifies to the point it un-nerves both dogs who get up on Carl’s bed and watched Cat from behind Carl! I was sitting on the chair nearby watching too….. So had Cat brought in a lizard or a snake and let it loose in Carl’s room…? Hmmm! After a half hour of no results, I took the dogs outside again, fed them and went to bed. I hope Cat and Carl got it all worked out last night!
One night, with both dogs on leash, I walked over to the neighbor’s house and stood a few feet from him while we visited. Both of my dogs quietly sat down next to me. My neighbor said he wanted to pet Belle and I said please do not. We can work on that (petting her) next week. They are both doing exactly what they are supposed to do as future service dogs I said to him. About two minutes later, Belle stepped forward to sniff his small labrador and then Belle lunged at her with her lips pulled back. I pulled her back, commanded her to stop and sit. She did immediately. We continued our conversation for another 15 minutes without incident. His lab stood between his legs and Belle made no more advances. Emma had not reacted. Good dog!
This morning in the front yard, I could see a neighbor with a dog on leash about the size of my girls coming down the street. I put Emma back on leash and stood in our yard waiting for them to pass. Emma reacted when she saw them and attempted to take off barking, with a low growl, acting very aggressive! She hit the end of the leash with such force it knocked her off her feet. I commanded her to “leave” and she stopped and sat down quietly but continued to stare after them. Belle had stayed quietly next to my knee with no reaction! Good girl!
Carl continues to feel poorly. He will get his first IV transfusion on Monday. Due to his blood type, it took a while for them to get the correct transfusion for him. Lois will take him since it is better that he does not drive right now. I know he is feeling pretty overwhelmed since he is so terribly tired out. Belle’s energy sometimes makes him concerned but his concern just makes me realize I need to step up Belle’s active time with me more. Once he has one IV done, Carl should start feeling better.
Carl’s insights into the pet dynamics in our house are right on the money! He sees their interactions more than I do. In the mornings, when I turn on the Roomba’s (small robots) to vacuum, Belle hops up into Carl’s bed until I call her to go outside with me. She snuggles up and they doze together. Emma also is now quick to snuggle with Carl. This is a new behavior for her; she never did this with Enga in the house. Often, Carl has both dogs in his bed!
Belle’s “sit” command training is going very well but with an interesting twist. She sits right away but only on her dog bed next to the back door! Telling her to sit will send her running to the dog bed where she sits and waits for her treat…. Hmmm! Interesting!
The dog kennels have been put away. Belle hangs out in Carl’s room (his bed or hers) or on her other dog bed next to the back door. Sometimes, she will go alone to my room and sleep on the floor next to my bed. Belle handled our recent overnight guest with out any reaction, quietly staying next to my legs under the table. I was proud of her! I still keep the dogs out of my room at night except when we have overnight company. I don’t want anyone getting a dog barking surprise when using the bathroom during the night! The doggies got along fine in my room.
Jim had told me that Belle liked ice cubes in her water dish and boy does she! It is very entertaining to watch! We have a policy of no dogs drinking from the toilet at our house and the ice cubes in her bowl positively reinforces the dog water bowl rule!
I am pleased with the progress of “cross” command training. When we are exiting the back seat of my car, the girls are patiently waiting for me to get ahold of their leashes and waiting for permission to exit. It is not rock solid yet but close! They are waiting individually to get “their” command, watching for me to look directly at them to react. Nice! Belle also will stay on command so I am able to move Skye’s cage outside and back in without Belle on leash! Much easier!!!
Our flea issue has subsided greatly using Diatomaceous Earth. Wish I had known about this product years ago! I want to use a less toxic approach to flea control!
Today, I hope to give both dogs a bath…. I have never given Emma a bath because Enga was too large for me to bathe so I just took them both to a groomer. Keep your fingers crossed on this one! I am sure there will be tales to tell!
I still take the dogs outside separately as well as together. Emma wants to play catch but Belle only wants to play keep away…. I am going to start working with Belle and the ball. I am going to offer her a treat, when she takes it, I will take the ball. When the treat is gone, I will return the ball to her. She should catch on pretty quick that she have the ball and the treat too. We will progress to bringing the ball to me for a treat. While she has shared the ball a few times with Emma I would like this behavior to happen more often. I think they could be great ball buddies!
Skye has been busy giving Belle commands and giving her praise for a good job! Belle totally ignores Skye so it just is a part of the regular hubbub of the house. Belle has not figured out yet that Skye snitches on his roomies and tells me if they are breaking rules! Skye watches all of us! Per Skye, EMS was in our neighborhood yesterday!
Belle is using the dog door frequently. She will pee out in the kennel as needed. Her pooping schedule still needs work. I send Carl the morning poop report by email because I only have so much time in the morning. We still have an occasional accident but I think it’s going to work out soon. I am going to start giving her a treat when she poops outside. She really likes the training treats I got for her so it should reinforce pooping on command!
I have started giving Belle a treat for putting her foot on. Emma gets one too for being supportive. It’s not really an issue but since I have limited time in the morning, I need her to be quick to come and get her foot on. Both dogs are getting receptive to this new routine!
When we are gone, I check on Belle via the surveillance camera’s. While Belle is still more active while we are gone, she is napping and not agitated. She is happy to see us return but not needy. I am leaving her loose. Sometimes I give her the rubber bone with peanut butter stuffed inside but not all the time. She is doing well with this!
Next Saturday, the girls have their vet appointment. I hope it goes really well. While there maybe some dogs barking, it is pretty much a calm environment and Dr Holder is a very compassionate vet. She can get my macaws to do things I cannot! Awesome!
I think we are on schedule with our Canine Good Citizen training. The test has 10 qualifications.
1) dog stands, sits, or lies down and waits under control.
2) walks on a loose leash in a natural situation (not in a ring)- does not pull.
3) walks on a loose leash through a crowd.
4) dog walks past distraction dogs present; dog does not pull.
5) sit-stay in small group (3 other people with dogs).
6) dog allows person who is carrying something (ie. Purse, computer case, backpack) to approach and pet it (item is put on ground before person pets dog).
7) “leave it” dog walks by food and follows owners instruction to leave it.
8) down or sit stay (owners choice) at a distance.
9) Recall with distractions present (coming when called).
10) dog enters/exists a doorway or narrow passageway (on leash, with owner) in a controlled manner.
I think Belle is making good progress on 1, 2, 4, 5, and 10. She can do number 8 but we would need to bring her dog bed! Lol! We will be working on #3 at the county park to begin with and then start going to the Eustis monthly street party to continue working on this! We need to get Lois and Bella out of the pool more often and see them on leash out on the street so we can do some more work on #4 and #5! Lol
I enjoy getting your responses to my weekly email. I don’t get much time to answer individually but I want to let you know I really enjoy them! I intend to incorporate these weekly emails into a “Belle scrapbook” so we can reflect in the years to come the beginning of our journey together! I will make extra copies!!!!
Blessings to Team Belle!
Suzanne and Carl
The picture is of Sprout prior to his beheading!
SuzanneReinhardtJones.com 