Jimiya how is Bonnie doing

Just wanted to see how she is working out and how it the training going.

Are Bonnie and Nala still buddies

honeybear

 

Thanks for asking! Bonnie is doing well. She and Nala still get along great.

I have been noticing, though, that Bonnie probably has not been good for Nala's self control issues. Now whenever she gets excited in the least little bit, she goes for Bonnie and starts to wrestle. Even if Bonnie doesn't want to, Nala doesn't let up until finally Bonnie gives in. The cat chasing, which we were making some tiny progress with, is getting worse again. And poor Bonnie - Nala will walk up to her and start munching on her ears. Seriously - Nala just stands there and chews on them like they are chew toys!! :shock: Poor Bonnie!

So, I am trying to teach Nala that we don't wrestle in the house. If they start it up, I open the door for them. If they don't want to go out, then they need to stop.

To get them calmed down, I put them both in a down. I sit in my chair and ignore them while I watch TV or read a book or something. Then every once in a while I toss them each a treat. It's really hard to read, sometimes, with two dogs staring intently at you. :shock:

It was pretty neat when we first started. Bonnie wouldn't lie down. So I treated Nala, but not Bonnie. Then I leaned back in the chair and closed my eyes. I peeked every once in a while, and after a minute or two, Bonnie laid down - so then they both got treats!

I stood up and both dogs jumped up. I gave the down command, and Nala hit the floor (as she does when she can see the treat bag in my hand). Bonnie just sat there and wiggled. So I stared at the ceiling. And after not too long, she laid down!

So now she pretty much knows that lying down is a good thing. After a while of doing this, I put the treats away (so they stop staring at me!!) but by then they are wound down and generally lie around and chew on stuff.

I took them both for a walk at the same time last week. I had Gentle Leaders on both of them. It was pretty tricky to keep them both in control, but they did pretty well!

I have not had a lot of time for much more than that. And my daughter and I started riding lessons so I spent the majority of the weekend in pain, LOL!

I am working on building agility equipment and stuff for the TTouch confidence course. I am even thinking about becoming a practitioner for TTouch (in my spare time - HAHAHAHA!!).

I decided to hold off on enrolling Bonnie in agility for a confidence booster. I took her last week to observe Nala's class and she cried for a lot of the lesson (in her crate) but then she calmed down. But I felt like I couldn't focus on Nala. Then I put Nala in the back of the car with Bonnie on the way home to keep her company, so I lost out on having her sit next to me up front. I decided that Bonnie could wait a bit, or I could find another instructor that teaches on a different night and enroll her there. Agility is my one-on-one bonding time with Nala and I don't want to lose that.

I am also going to try to get Bonnie certified through the Delta Society as a therapy dog. A lot of it is similar to the AKC Canine Good Citizen program. Bonnie can do a lot of it right now, except for "stay" and if I left her with someone else and left the room, she would cry. Not sure how I will fix that one, but I think we can still pass the overall test even if she fails that part.

The "stay" is also a problem. If I move even a millimeter when she is sitting or down, she jumps up to follow me. She practically stands on my feet. Not sure what I will do with that one. We have 5 months, though, because the dog has to be in your possession for 6 months before they can be certified.


Jamiya

 

glad to hear Bonnie is going so well, LOl - I dontknow how you fit everything in. Sounds like she would be a great therapy dog since she lets Nala do anything to her and she doesnt respond. Wylie is like that with Jake, but Jake just doesnt want to play. Probably a goid thing Nala and Bonnie are so different. They work thru each other. I fyou had 2 hyper dogs you would probably be tearing your hair out, or you doing that already :mrgreen: I think the stay problem stems from proably SA issues and she justs wants to be with you. I dont think they both need to be in agility, sounds like something Nala really likes, but Bonnie is more mellow. I am not familiar with TTouch. She sure is catching on fast. dont rememeber how she is - is still still a pup? and did you ge the chew proof beds

Honeybear

 

I only want to put Bonnie in agility as a confidence-building exercise, unless she takes an interest in it. Agility is supposed to be great for shy dogs - they learn to walk on different surfaces and be around other dogs, etc. I met a girl at an agility trial who does a lot of rescue, and one of her dogs that she was competing with that day started out extremely shy and scared - submissive urination and the whole bit. You'd never know it to look at this dog now.

I didn't buy the chew-proof beds yet. Money is all gone at the moment, so I need to earn more.

We are guessing Bonnie is about 1.5 years old. She had a bit of tartar along the bottoms of her molars. Of course, it is gone now after a month on raw, so if I took her to my vet I'm sure they would give me a younger age.

TTouch site is here: http://www.lindatellingtonjones.com/descriptionttouch.shtml
and this is the trainer that led a seminar I attended: http://www.spiritdog.com/


Jamiya

 

very interesting - looks like a type of massage/trigger point therapy to calm them. Thats what Wylie needs, she get so nervous when people touch her.

honeybear

 

It's more than just massage. The massage is a large part of it, but there is the confidence course and other techniques as well. The whole thing is based on the idea that the relationship with the dog is the improtant thing. It is all positive and never forces the dog to do anything. The dog is allowed to DECIDE what to do and how to react, but of course you encourage the directions you want.

At the seminar she did a little bit with helping dogs with SA. She used one of the participant's dogs who was very shy. She would take the leash and walk with the dog, praising it every step and giving treats and doing a few fast TTouches - but if the dog wanted to go back to her owner, she would allow it and follow the dog back. The owner, however, was supposed to totally ignore the dog when it came back, so the dog would learn the fun stuff was out on the floor with the trainer.

At first, the dog was running back after a few feet. She gradually went further away and longer in between running back. She got to the point where she would start back and the trainer would be able to interrupt her and get her to stay for more treats and play. She had her on the confidence course across the room from her owner. The dog would stop every now and then and look at her owner, but she was no longer running back there every few seconds. This whole thing took maybe 15 minutes. It was awesome!


Jamiya

 

Jamiya, you really need to find something to do with all that time on your hands! :mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen:
Whatever it is you take to keep you going, I WANT SOME! :mrgreen: kidding! Of coarse

Wow girl! how do you do it? I thought I was busy.....

Sounds like you are doing some great things with the dogs, kids and for yourself, that's wonderful The riding lessons with your daughter will be something she will remember and cherish when she gets older, good for you! I grew up on horses and it was the best childhood, kept me out of alott of trouble I'm sure! "not completely" but it did keep me very busy...

YOU NEED A VACATION!!!

Susan

 

Hehe, I have to keep busy to keep me out of trouble. My mind is always going and I have to have a project I am working on or a goal in mind to work towards. I have problems understanding my kids and husband, who all seem to have had their motivation removed at birth.

Of course, I also tend to get in over my head and start a lot of things that I can't finish. But hey, we all need a hobby. :roll:

My current mini-project is to start painting miniatures. My son plays D&D (and we do too, when we have time) and he got a Lord of the Rings miniature game for his birthday, so he and I and my daughter will all try our hand at painting. Now we just have to find a room not occupied by destructive beasts to set up in.


Jamiya