August 29th - Misha and Tim Time

My boyfriend, Tim, took Misha to a local bar with his friend. This bar is dog friendly so it's a perfect place have Misha to socialize. Apparently, Ms. Misha was shoving her head into my boyfriend's friend's hands to get petted. At the bar, she was very friendly and welcoming!

Another proud moment and another late blog entry. woops!

Tutoring

Misha with Alex, the 5th grader I tutor.
Ok with him, it seems.
Her body language is somewhat nervous but the fact that she would even approach him is leaps and bounds from where she used to be.

<3

The Beach, The Misha, The Children 8/25/2014

Late Post. 8/25/2014

Misha absolutely loves the beach. But today, she loved the beach and the people in it.

She went up to every stranger she saw - so much so that I had to call her to stop annoying people. She not only allowed them to pet her, but she was interested in what they were doing, what they had, the other dogs at the beach, and her overall surroundings. She is gaining confidence and the beach is another place to water the bond plant. =)

The most impressive thing Misha did today was hang out with kids on her own. Some girls were playing with the sand and Misha decided she was going to keep them and their moms company. 

Such a huge step!

Second Class in Agility

Misha's second class in agility proved to be a success. This is something she really enjoys and I am loving bonding with her. She is not only agile, but very responsive to commands.
The trainer even suggested to register her with AKC as a mixed breed in order to compete. Not only was she impressed but she saw true potential in us as a team. Her success, however, depends on me - I've realized agility training is more about the handler than the dog. The dog will follow - it takes practice to lead. Our bond is strong, though, and Misha is pretty consistent and always willing to learn. I'm excited to start her on a more consistent schedule - this will surely strengthen our bond further.

Attached are some pictures and videos of her progress on the course.

Good Progress, Misha (@Petsmart!)

Misha, you did so well today!
Not only were you comfortable in the store (walking around, being curious about everything and everyone), but you were comfortable receiving treats from strangers (without growling at them, first..hehe).
You did avoid being petted by one of the workers after he gave you the treat...but that's ok.
We're getting there!

 The company of your brother, Rusty, helped.

Here is some avoidance...

Here's some more avoidance, but interest in the treat...

YOU ARE GETTING THERE, ANTI-SOCIAL, GROWLING BEAR!!!

Last Day of Basic Obedience 7.16.2014

I don't mean to brag....but Misha was the best dog in this class. =)

She passed with flying colors.
I am not sure if my schedule will allow for advanced obedience training, but it's something to consider as Misha has made such improvement!

Misha passed with flying colors when the trainer tested each dog with heeling, forward, halt, trainer touching Misha (head, torso, tail), and having the dog come back to owner. I was skeptical about the trainer being able to approach Misha and touching her - Misha didn't even hesitate, and came to me when called.

Finally, we demonstrated to the class what a 'Figure 8' drill should looks like. Basically, you put chairs a few feet apart from each other and make figure eights around them. The chairs are suppose to represent people and they are to teach the dog to be by your side no matter how close in proximity they may come to an object or a person. We needed no training =). Misha showed the class how it was done. 

We will continue to practice the following exercises:

Figure 8
Stand
Down (we really need to work on this one)
Back up and Call
Distance (come on command with distance)
Back up and call + the 2 finishes (heel and swing)
Sit stay
Down Stay
Sit when halting (while walking or jogging- requires specific footwork (right foot then left foot "and sit"))
Among other things!!

Attached is a link a video of a demonstration of both finishes. I'm not so worried about Misha doing the finishes correctly; I am more impressed with the fact that she was so focused on the trainer and focused on what the trainer wanted from her.
More to come!

Progress!

I am so proud of Misha. This week was a great week!

Not only was the training session amazing, but we also attended her first agility course!

On Wednesday, there weren't that many dogs in the training class for some reason but Misha reacted no different in the new calmness. She is never reactive to the other dogs and has always been focused on me and what I want her to do. The trainer used her a lot to demonstrate the next task at hand. Misha was ready to work! She was excited, happy, and focused on the handler, whether me or the trainer. 

One of the commands that Misha is having the most trouble with is 'stand.' I believe she may be confusing it with 'sit' as she sits as soon as she hears the 's' sound. I have to work on being quicker and clearer with my words. 

This week's homework is as follows:

1. Master the heeling forward halt (stand)..hmm, maybe I should use 'Halt' instead?

2. Once in the halt position, touch the dog's body in three spots (head, middle, end)

3. Practice walking away from the dog and calling for her to come, practice getting further and further away

4. Finishes - heel and swing (these are challenging as it requires the dog to either make a full circle around you and sit to your left or to make a small circle next to you before sitting to your left (hard to explain))

5. DOWN stay and Sit stay (and walk around your dog, come back to them and heel them off)

Misha will get these, I'm sure. She has half of them practically mastered. 

SATURDAY July 12th: AGILITY TRAINING!!!

Welcome to Blazing Paws Agility Training. 

I am so thankful I found this place. The trainer, Leslie Granville-Smith, is probably one of the best I have seen. She first had us do basic obedience to see where our relationship is with our dog - everyone did so well she said this is probably the best class she's had, ever. 

Then, she had us all stand in a circle with a toy for our dogs. "PLAY!" The point of this was for her to see our interaction with our dog in a fun setting. Why? Because agility is all about fun and focus for the dogs and if the dog isn't having fun, there's no point (love this train of thought - all about the dog). After the exercise, the toys were put in the middle of the room and one by one she wanted to see how each dog/handler team interacted with all the toys. Misha did well, but didn't interact with all of them, only the ones she liked. Leslie saw which dogs were so focused on the handler, which ones made their own choice, and which ones had such a bond with their owners that no matter which toy they were presented with, they played. Why? because it wasn't about playing with the toy, it was about interacting with the handler. This is something I have to work on to build that bond - where Misha wants to interact with me and not with what I am offering. 

Lastly, the trainer wanted us to stand in the middle of the room, sans dog, and recall our pet. I saw Leslie going to the dogs, grabbing their leash, and waiting for the owner recall. I panicked a little. I thought "oh no, Misha is going to growl as soon as she approaches." I tried to calm my nerves. Leslie approached us and grabbed Misha by the collar. Misha did step back and go into her 'flight' mode, but very quickly calmed down. She did not growl, but instead looked away at all times, ears back. She allowed Leslie to grab a hold of her collar and was ok seeing me walk away. When I called her name, Misha ran to me so fast - and Leslie loved that. The worst part was over. Although not entirely with flying colors, Misha had passed the stranger approach. 

Moving on to the obstacles, we started off small. Misha did fantastic! She was enjoying jumping, standing on things (except for the obstacles that moved) and going...through...the tunnel!!! This was HUGE for me and when she finally did it, I was overwhelmed with joy, excitement, and pride. The tunnel had to be collapsed to it's smallest form before Misha could trust it. But after her third try, she was blazing through it! She got the message right away and quickly entered the tunnel several times to meet me at the end of it. 

What a great day! We had so much fun, bonded so well, and we are looking forward to the next class.

She is progressing. I can see our future is bright.

http://www.blazingpawsagility.com 

It was the worst of times, it was the best of times….in that order.

Day starts out well with a volunteer orientation for Canine Assisted Therapy, Inc.
After the meeting I asked if Misha could stop by the office and meet the nice people of this organization. She did; and growled at every single one of them for about 10 minutes.
She took treats from all of them, but still growled and even eliminated a bit on their rug (sorry!).
After about 15 minutes she was doing okay, but not great. She was still uncomfortable and looking for a way out. I led her to the room where they do the evaluations and began to play a game of "chase" with her. She loved it and had fun. I hope she remembers that part the next time she comes in the facility. Still, she was uncomfortable and wasn't trusting of the people.

Training was at 7:30pm as per usual and that went PHENOMENALLY well! Immediately, she went up to the trainer, who's apparently now her best friend. The trainer was very pleased and gave her a few treats. She believes the way to Misha's heart is through food. Of course, she's right. She suggested to have Misha receive "special" treats that only come from strangers. For example, Misha will never receive house food from me. Instead, the stranger can give her a small piece of hotdog, or even cheese. The trainer said to have new people only, (first time encounters) give her these special treats. Perhaps, Misha will catch on that every new person is there to give her goodies she doesn't otherwise get.
At the end of the class, Misha was getting treats from several strangers in the class and she willingly went up to them, tail high and wagging, ears perked, begging for treats.
This showed me that feeding her before class had nothing to do with her comfort level in class. She just needed to see the same people several times to be comfortable.

This Week's Homework

1. Keep practicing Leave It command
2. Time the 'stay'
3. Practice 'stay' and going around the dog - the dog cannot move while you are circling her
4. If possible, practice having strangers come to the house
5. Practice heeling and walking at different paces
6. SIT on command as soon as you stop walking (at any pace)
7. Practice "wait"
8. Something else I can't remember =(

Until next week.

A Second Visit from the Neighbor

Today is a good day.
Why? Because not only did Misha stay for a whole 2 minutes for the 'stay' exercise, but she also did VERY well when the neighbor came inside for a visit.
My hypothesis was right, Buddy was encouraging all the barking yesterday. This time, my boyfriend took Rusty and Buddy for a walk while the neighbor came and knocked on the door for Misha's exercise.
The first knock, and Misha didn't even move. She looked at the door with a confused stare, looked at me, and then sat down. I texted Erica to 'knock louder.' She did and this time Misha did the motion of wanting to bark but never did. I immedietly told her to 'sit - stay' and she did!
Erica came in, greeted me, and sat down on the couch.

As soon as she sat down, Misha came to greet her. (I know that wasn't the exercise - the exercise was to have Misha wait until she was invited to greet the person. Why? because not everyone that comes over wants to pet your dog). However, for my purpose, I wanted to see if Misha would seek the attention of Erica. To my surprise, she did! Never did she bark at her - instead, she went up to her and allowed Erica to pet her all over. In fact, Misha even placed her head on Erica's arm when Erica stopped petting her.
So yes, today was a good day.

Leave it, Stay, and a Visit from the Neighbor

Misha is doing so well with "leave it." If I am in tune with what she's eyeing and say "leave it" beforehand, she leaves it almost immediately.

Stay - she is also doing well with this. Last night, she finally stayed in front of me for over a minute. I will try again today and hopefully that result wasn't just due to a tired Misha.

Stay while there's a knock on the door - this is easier said than done with three dogs. My boyfriend is still at work and I wasn't able to leave the dogs elsewhere, so everyone got trained today. Buddy, the alpha, took orders from no one. (Maybe I should fix him first?). Because of the circumstances, I did grab a treat and had Misha and Rusty sit. They both did SO well. I opened the door (carrying Buddy) and my neighbor, Erica, handed me a piece of mail. Misha and Rusty stayed (Rusty focused on the treat). Misha wanted to bark, but her tail was wagging. I am not sure if this was due to excitement or if she was following Buddy's protective lead. She has learned a lot from Buddy...all bad things, like barking at people. I am now regretting not focusing my energy on training Buddy first. Maybe three dogs is too much... =(

Let's see how she does tomorrow without Buddy and Rusty being at home.

A Bear Growl at the Dog Park

Misha and Missy see each other from across the park; they run towards one another. It was a nice moment. More and more dogs arrive at the park. Misha greets all of them - the humans, not so much. A couple walks in and pets her - I'm surprised but proud.
But…..a few minutes later, Missy is behind Misha, that same couple walks towards her and there it is: that deep bear growl followed by a protective, deep, bark. Misha approaches them and smells. Everything is ok. But why did she do it? The only thing I can think of is that she was protecting Missy. She's never done that before, and the oddest thing is that she had already allowed that couple to pet her. I stood up immediately and corrected her. She sat on command and waited.

Another couple entered the park and then this happened:

This random person comes over and pets her, massages her, she lays down on the ground for him and asks for belly rubs. I praise her immediately after the interaction is over. 

The previous event followed by something like this is what's confusing to me (both events happened within 10 minutes of each other. The person in the picture is someone random, not related to the couple she growled at). If she didn't like people all the time, I would understand. But her feelings towards people change constantly. Is it different energies she's feeling? I am not sure.

This person went up to her multiple times and it's as if she had known him for years. 

Well, Misha, you never seize to surprise me and confuse me. Let's continue today's training. 

Update soon. 

A More Tamed Growling Bear

At the vet, with brother Buddy.

Buddy barks. Misha growls at strangers.
She still listened to commands 'sit' and 'down', but she still vocalized her deep, low, bear growl.
I cherish the moment when she didn't know she had that power.
I'm really hoping this was due to Buddy's rowdiness and the location (the vet's office).
Crossing fingers and training continues.

A Proud Moment

Apologies. Didn't blog about last week with Misha.

Training - Terrible! She growled at the trainer a second time....
I can feel myself sinking with disappointment. I'm sure Misha felt it too, as she quickly looked at me with her glistening eyes, waiting for approval. I did not approve and she knew it.
Exercises were ok and she listened well to commands from me.

Our homework was to practice the walk and to practice the "wait" command. "Wait" is not the same as "Stay." It's a rather shorter pause and requires a different hand signal. Also, we were instructed to practice the "Leave it" command. This is one of particular importance as C.A.T training requires for a dog to be able to "leave it" on command, whatever "it" is. Misha is also very good at this.

I think I skipped blogging last week because I felt my failure to help Misha see people as something good and trustworthy. However, yesterday, I saw a glimpse of hope.

We got in the car and headed to training.

Misha, of course, enjoying the breeze out the window (Something she always hated but grew to like and enjoy). I glance at her, turn around (while at a red light), and tell her "please do not growl at anyone today, please... be the good dog I know you are."

We enter training, and I almost cried. She went up to the trainer, wagging her tail, sitting, and giving "paw" (<--something I've taught her will get her treats!). The trainer just signaled for treats and fed her straight from her hand. I was overjoyed and pride filled my insides!
Throughout the session, Misha did everything beautifully! She was even chosen to demonstrate some of the commands.

This week's homework:
1.Practice Stay for as long as the dog can stay and time it!
2. Take random objects that aren't important (crumbled paper, ripped newspaper, toilet paper roll, plastic container, maybe a wrapper, etc) and put them on the floor randomly throughout the house. As we go into each room (Misha on leash) practice "Leave it" with those random objects. To do this, Misha can go the entire length of the leash with enough distance to just barely touch it, and once she's up to it, LEAVE IT! =)
3. Practice having people come over the house and a) handing me something at the door (like a mailman would) while Misha waits and then b) Knocking on the door and coming inside. Misha is to wait until I have welcomed her to say hi to the person. Once that interaction is done, Misha needs a 'place to be' while the person comes in and has coffee, for example.
4. Keep heeling and walking at different paces (slow = tug on the collar several times saying 'easy easy easy' or speeding up and saying "let's go")

I was very proud at this training session. But one thing I did do differently (besides have a good talk with Misha, hehe) was that I did not feed her before the session. For the past two weeks, I have been feeding her and then attending. Perhaps that is what changed: she was hungry and only focused on her hunger, accepting treats from the trainer. (I am not too sure about this as she is ALWAYS up for treats, hungry or not...). However, it is a good thing to consider. To test my hypothesis, I will feed her next class and see her reaction. Maybe she is just getting more used to everything and the routine of it all. It would be a great thing if she's actually getting used to ....people!

Here's a great video we took at the park: Misha and Missy (best of friends). Rain, mud, and freedom.

Growling Bear

June 11th:

Hi! My name is Misha. Today, I growled at the trainer.

Yup. She did. She was great throughout the ENTIRE session, and then she growled at the trainer.

At the end of the session, Misha was even taking treats from the trainer but getting her to trust people from the very beginning is the goal.

We were given some homework.

1. Change the leash and collar - replace it with a choke chain and a 6 foot leash

2. Do Not use the word "No." Instead, find the positive of the action you Don't want (example: if she gets up on the couch, instead of saying "NO", just say "Misha, down" and when she follows command, give praise.

3. Practice the walk. Dog should always be on your left side

4. A lot of other things I should have written down.

I still have high hopes. 

Update coming soon on the growling bear. 

Project Name Change Continues

As advised, I have been keeping up with Misha's exposure to the world as best possible. I have walked her to a local park several days out of the week and have asked strangers to give her treats. Quickly, I learned my approach wasn't the best. Telling people "Hi, Can you please give her a treat? She's not very good with people and I need to train her to be accepting of people" doesn't give off quite the energy I need it to. Needless to say, DiamondMisha growled and barked at the first guinea pigs....

However, "Hi! Do you mind giving her a treat? I am training her to be a therapy dog and she needs to be able to take treats and listen to commands (sit, paw, etc) from everyone, not just me" sounds WAY better than the previous statement. Hence, everyone that got THAT explanation gave off a more positive vibe than the previous people. She did very well and even let everyone pet her after the treat was given. (this tells me that she's very keen on people's energy)

Another tactic I have attempted these past few days is having her receive guests at my job. I brought her entire food portion in a container to use as treats and everyone that came in gave her pebbles out of their hand. She seemed to be more comfortable as she was more focused on the food rather than the stranger. Some clients even had her do tricks. I was very proud. She was more welcoming of people, but still hesitant to some. 

As for the name change, she was responding to DiamondMisha by the second day. Sometimes, she even responds to just Misha when given a command after the name (Misha, come). 

Her walks still need work - I have been thinking of purchasing one of those leads that go around the muzzle. Perhaps that will help. 

Lastly, I have enrolled her in a six week dog obedience training course! 

I'm really excited about this as it'll expose her more to being around people and is a closer setting to the training done for C.A.T (canine assisted therapy). Not only will she be exposed to people, but people with dogs on leash. This will certainly be a true test. 

Class starts June 11 - 7:30pm

Project Name Change Begins

Meet Diamond. (Circa Summer 2013)

She’s energetic. Sweet. Loving. A puppy. Owner surrendered, and now my dog.

She was named Diamond by her previous owner who couldn’t keep her. I fostered Diamond for months only to give her back to her original owner who thought she was able to keep her again. A few months later, she is back with me, and this time for good. Diamond had been given a home, then fostered by me, then brought back to that home, etc. She had also been taken care of by her previous owner’s neighbors. In short, she had no stability. After I made the decision to keep her permanently, I encountered a few problems along the way.

1. She did not trust people.

This didn’t come as a surprise as there was not one person she had grown to trust.

2. She only trusted dogs.

Also not a surprise as she was practically raised at my job (a hotel and daycare for dogs). She was raised by the pack.

3. She only trusted people if she saw them with a dog.

4. The training I had accomplished was undone in the months she was back with her former owner.

5. She was overweight.

The first challenge I took care of was the overweight issue. She is now at the ideal weight of 29lbs.

I then tackled the issues of walking on leash. She quickly learned!

The biggest problem is trusting humans. Taking her to Petco and having her walk comfortably in the store around other people (sans dogs) proved to be a nightmare. She always eliminates, shakes, and has her tail between her legs. I walk her around Petco with treats in hand for over an hour and ask people to give her treats and pet her. She takes the treats and tolerates the petting but is in a very heightened state – she is NOT at ease.

For this reason, I have chosen to change her name.

She needs to let go of the behaviors that come attached to the name Diamond.

Misha is her new name. Misha means bear in Russian.

I will also be retraining her in hopes of making her a Therapy dog for Canine Assisted Therapy, Inc. She is destined for greatness.

I will not let her down. She deserves better.