BC Crazy

Oh, of course

Hi Vickie, Had to edit my answer as I wasn't sure what you mean't by the term Markers. Mental blank due to Stella stress LOL. Yes I do use markers. I don't use a clicker I use the word "Yes" when Stella gets it right & treat her to begin with, then randomly treat after she has learnt whatever it is I am teaching her." UH UH" & manually correct her if she gets it wrong. She does learn stuff really quickly. I am trying to slow her down at times cause she almost gets ahead of herself & me for that matter :laugh: Everything is a million miles an hour with her. You can see her mind is constantly thinking. Stella tries very hard to get it right & hates getting it wrong. I hope I am on the right track with her. She only knows some very basic stuff as up until this point. One reason being I don't know how to teach much more & 2. I haven't been separating her from Sonny as this would upset her to the point & she would shut down. But after speaking with the behaviourist/trainer, she recommended I do this VERY slowly so that's what I have been doing, much to Stella's dismay. Where we live there are no services for dog training / agility clubs or alike so I have been utilising this forum for most of my info & have been to 2 behaviourists for one on one help. I'm pretty much learning as I go.

Don't know if anyone has already suggested a hananese. My brother & family have one. Great little dogs. Excellent temp. Very lay back. Fairly long coated but doesn't seem to shed much. Very smart & faithfull.

I think you are right there do seem to be quite a few similarities!!! I think it's a beautiful photo - thanks!!! It's pretty much my last one of the two of them together, it was only about 1.5 months after it was taken I had to have Em PTS, so it's a bit special to me!! Oh very special & rightfully so. Just awesome. I will not only be giving mum a book, I will have a story to tell behind a beautiful photo that is in there.

Same with me weasels. This is the first time I have owned 2 dogs at the same time. Sonny is just a big pussy cat. Calm & rock solid. Then when I got Stella I couldn't have got two more different dogs. She is a very needy girl. Reactive & totally unpredictable but I am totally commited to make her the very best she can be & even if we don't make an Agility Trail as long as I can make her life a little stressful & she is comfortable in her own fur, then I will feel I have achieved something.

I usually find that I agree with all or almost all Nekhbet advises Just adding my 2 cents ...... In my own experience, to build confidence while training, set it up and stage manage it at a level (s) so that the dogs WINS. In other words, "CATCH THE DOG DOING SOMETHING RIGHT, consistently. Then act deliriously happy and reward with praise, pats, toys, food, or whatever makes your dog feel appreciated and clever etc This really truly builds confidence The dog feels clever and begins to believe that it can DO things to make you happy enough to reward it and make it feel special. However it must be done at the dog's pace slowly over time One can test periodically, to see when the dog is ready to move on to a bigger challenge and then drop back quickly to a much easier exercise to bring the dog's spirits back up Think of how YOU feel when you are learning something from someone and they praise the heck out of every correct response, and ignore the wrong responses OR only give some correction AFTER marking and telling you all the GOOD things that you did well. Then think about the type of teacher that makes things a bit too difficult and has to criticize you Even the gentlest of criticism, causes confidence to drop, especialy if praise is not given many times prior. My 1st dog was so soft and wanted to be right/clever so badly, that I had to control my slightest facial expressions if she blew an exercise in training. I dared not even look mildly disappointed She would shut down and look miserable However, when she suceeded she was delirious with joy This dog ended up with many titles in 2 countries but I never ever used compulsion of any kind and before I trained I planned how to make her suceed/feel good about what we were going to do That is Stella all over Canine Coach. She is very soft & extremely sensitive to pretty much everything. Someone has only got to hear a raised voice near by & she has jumped to her feet, eye's darting everywhere, like 'what going on'. She picks up on the slightest things when it comes to me as well. So I am very careful with direction to her & praise, praise & more praise when she has done the slightest thing well. She tries very hard to get it right & hates to get it wrong but when she does I don't make a big deal of it , just usually manually correct her & then more praise or perhaps a game of tug or something fun. She is also very perceptive to my facial expression as well, even if I randomly smile her way I get a million tail wags. :laugh:

Hi Pretty Miss Emma, I think our two girls sound sooo very similar in nature even down to the toy sucking :laugh: I am going to try some free-shaping, see how we go. I could see that really working for us. Stella mind seems to be doing over time anyway. She is a real thinker. I have just brought a new book a couple of days ago with some tricks in it, we started off really simply with the "spin" & she loves it & can do that one already so we are onto the next one already. Have been keeping training short & finishing with her fav's like a game of tug or fetch the ball. My goal is to give Agility a go with Stella down the track. I have never done it before but it looks like a tonne of fun & I really think Stella will love it. By the way I brought the new RSPCA book for my mum for mothers day, love the photo of Emma & Kenzie, beautiful. You have done really well with Kenzie, there is hope for me yet :laugh: Thanks for your help PME, appreciate it :)

Hi Nekhbet, so right what your saying about Sonny being Stella's crutch cause that is exactly what is happening. I have started doing some very simple work with Stella on her own for short periods of time to start with in our back yard & she is responding extremely well. I am very suprised how well behaved she is, she just keep looking up at me all the time as if to say, "o.k. what do you want me to do now, bring it on" which is great. She is as keen as to learn. I must admit I found Stella a bit over whelming at times & I was loosing confidence in my own handling abilities for a while there. She is a very complex girl.Thought maybe she would be much better off in someone hands who has more experience than me as she has a tonne of potential. But I love her way too much to part with her So have decided to just try & break things down into small steps & concentrate on just one thing a time. Interesting Nekhbet, your comments re Stella's 'shut down' behaviour & I will be paying much closer attention during our training to this as we may be able to work through some of this behaviour instead of automatically stopping. Maybe a short break, then re start. Appreciate your imput / help Nekhbet with this.

Hi Megan. Thanks for your interesting post. I have tried clicker training but find it just too much in my hands as silly as that sounds but am very interest in 'free shaping' as I find Stella loves to figure things out for herself rather than me asking her to do something. I am wondering if there is a link to view some of this stuff in action as I would love to learn more about it. Agility is my goal for my girl but ATM baby steps are tearing her away from Sonny's side & getting her comfortable being by herself out & about. Then when we have got that far I am off to look for a very good agility club which I will have to travel a fews hours away for as there just isn't anything in my area. I also have to get Stella used to wearing a muzzle so I have just ordered one online. I have found she responds much better with calm, quiet praise than YAAAA you did good !!!! like the way I give my boy a wrap. If I do that to her she shy's away from me & we shut down for a while. You sound like you have come a long way with your under confident girl. Congrats to you, hope I can go half as well & I will be happy.

Hi everyone, I have recently been to see a trainer/behaviourist with my 18 month old girl "Stella" & apparently she is not a confident dog. Was wondering if anyone had any ideas on how I could help her gain confidence. Is there any exercises I could do with her that could help her with this issue. She is a lovely girl but I feel she would be a lot calmer/relaxed if she was more sure of herself. She is extremely bright & alert, although is very reactive. Really keen learner as well. She has basic obedience skills. ATM the trainer wants me to start separating her from my older boy "Sonny" as she has become far to reliant on him & that is not helping her to develop appropriate coping skills. We are starting off very slowly as Stella doesn't cope well with sudden changes to routine, she shuts down quickly if it gets too much for her emotionally. So a 10 min. walk on her own per day to start with in an area familiar to her & a quick game. I have just started to use a Thunder Shirt on her ( with great success) so far as well. Any idea's / suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance :)

When I was in the market for a dog bath, I did look at one of these & they looked great but I ended up buying a Booster Bath & couldn't be happier. The Booster Bath is great as it is on legs so no more bending. OH made me a ramp to go up into it. My 2 love it. They put themselves into as soon as we get home from the beach to be rinsed off :laugh:

Hi mahalia's mum, Well so far so very, very good with TOTW . Sonny is doing so well on it & his coat is gleaming. Lots happier in himself as well & he loves the taste which is a bonus as he is a real big Mr. fussy pants with his dry food. I am paying delivered to the door around $100 for a 13.6 kg bag from Natural Pet Store. I so highly recommend them. Their customer service & price are second to none. Was doing my head in trying to work out which one would be suitable for Sonny to try (there are so many choices) & they were kind enough to send me samples of a few different sorts. $5 to deliver & 2 days it's at our front door & I live well outside Sydney CBD.

Hi, I had Sonny on RC med.dog for a short time. His coat went dull & dry. His over all condition did go south imho. He didn't like it very much either.

Thought's are with you at this tough time lillysmum. It is never am easy decision & to add to the pressure, budget is tight. In hindsight I think I let my boy go a bit too long. Couldn't bear the thought of losing him I don't know, it's just such an emotional time to try & even think clearly.

I was thinking the exact same thing hankdog. Yay !! for the support group & the internet. :D

I have tried everything for this revolting problem with my girl to no avail. So I have to pick it up ASAP & not a second later. As soon as "IT" hits the ground otherwise "YUMMY" & that goes for Sonny's as well. Oh yes his is even tastier.

Yes it does seem to isolate you when you own a reactive dog. I keep well away from other with dogs most of the time as it is not worth 'making a scene'. I used to walk with friends pre Stella days with just Sonny but Stella has scared everyone & their dogs away. So we go solo now. Most people take a wide birth around us when they see us coming.

Couldn't agree more with m-sass regarding the huge learning curve owning a reactive dog. I was kidding myself if I thought I knew a bit about our 4 legged friends before I got Stella. She has taught me so much in the time I have had her. Just amazes how much I didn't know :laugh: I am finding owning her very exhausting at times as I always have to (try) to be one step ahead of her which is very difficult with such a smart, switched on little girl. She is just very alert All the time. On the flip side of owning her, she is very responsive to me & tries so hard to get it right. She's the most affectionate dog I have ever owned. Just a real sweet heart I know she is taking me on one hell of a journey & I am going to give her 110 % & see where we end up. It is nice to know I am not alone & everyone commenting on this particular thread could relate to where I am coming from.

I am so enjoying this thread as my girl is very reactive to most things. She certainly wouldn't be suited to any group class of any type ATM so I am starting off in private lessons on Friday which I am really looking forward to. Sure they are expensive but am convinced in the long term they will pay off big time for both her & I will have a more settled & confident girl. Hopefully when we improve & I learn some better coping mechanism's we will be able to fit into a group class Well that is the plan anyway. Cause I would love to do agility one day. :)

Hi mahalia's mum, Well so far so very, very good with TOTW . Sonny is doing so well on it & his coat is gleaming. Lots happier in himself as well & he loves the taste which is a bonus as he is a real big Mr. fussy pants with his dry food. I am paying delivered to the door around $100 for a 13.6 kg bag from Natural Pet Store. I so highly recommend them. Their customer service & price are second to none. Was doing my head in trying to work out which one would be suitable for Sonny to try (there are so many choices) & they were kind enough to send me samples of a few different sorts. $5 to deliver & 2 days it's at our front door & I live well outside Sydney CBD.

Me too Spotted Devil. Where's the tissues.

I have recently had to change my boy over from Black Hawk to Taste of the Wild ( grain-free Salmon ) as he developed an allergy to grain. He is thriving on his new food & is no longer suffering from a flakey skin issue or unpleasant smell that he did for a short time before the swap. Within 24 hours the aweful odour disappeared. 3 days flakey skin issue, gone. I was amazed & very happy he is doing so well now. Some dogs systems just can't tolerate grain. :)

God Melissa, I am trying to type this through a flood of tears & at a loss for words. Beautiful tribute Such a truly beautiful boy

It's been 4 years on the 23rd June since I gave my beautiful rescue BC "Redman" his wings at 14.5 years old. His passing broke my heart in two. The single most difficult thing I have EVER had to do. I 'feel' him near me on occasion around the house , in the backyard & I sometimes actually see him. Just the other day I was out walking my guys along the beach & I turned around quickly & there he was, just as stunning as ever & looking my way, then he was gone. He looked like he did when he was about 5, very fit, healthy,happy & very content. It's funny cause I always knew Redman truly loved & adored me as I did him by the way he looked into me eyes, smiling almost with an inner glow. I don't know if it is just wishful thinking on my part cause I miss him so much. It makes my heart ache that I had to let him go. But when I feel his 'warm' presence around me or get an occasional glimpse of him my emotions are flooded by all the fond memories I have of him & my heart is full again. Till we will again my beautiful boy at the gates to rainbow bridge.