# Began school with Betty....



## Lonewolfblue (Oct 28, 2007)

Well, just to update everyone, last Monday was Betty's 3rd class in Dog Socialization. The following quotes come from other sites where I posted about each class, that way I won't have to retype it all.



Lonewolfblue said:


> She did pretty well for the first day. Because she seems to have had some obedience training in the past, we were able to go directly to having another dog around on the first day. They usually don't do that, but because they felt her training was further along than expected, it's a good thing.
> 
> She still tries to go after the other dogs, but it's not aggression they say. They showed me her posture when she did it, and they tell me it's due to fear. Even with another dog at a distance, she still has the fear. So that is what we are working on. She said it's pretty easy to correct the problem, just takes some time. I thought it was going to be expensive at 30.00/hr, what I didn't realize is that the class is only 1 hour long. And she said even if we are there longer, it's still just 1 hour. Next Monday is our next class, and I have a few things to work on with her over the week.
> 
> ...





Lonewolfblue said:


> Class #2 was good. She's learning alot, but still is quite fearful of other dogs. The trainer said it's going to take a little while, but she will get over it. I hope so.Told her if possible, I'd like to get a 2nd dog. Wanted to see what her reaction was. She said there'll be absolutely no problems with getting another dog. I thought I'd get a lecture that I shouldn't, lol. When she asked, I told her I was looking at getting an Australian Shephard if I did get another dog, and have 2 dogs that could possibly be competition dogs. She said it's doable.
> 
> Here's a pic....


Well, this last Monday, Class #3, she did very well. We were to the point where both dogs were within about 2 feet of each other, and Betty was fine. But this was only with both dogs not in motion. As soon as the other dog started to walk, Betty went into this fearful moment that was hard to control. But this is a lot better than the previous weeks. And at the end of class, the trainer told me we were beginning to make progress, and that Betty had made a huge step forward compared to the previous weeks. So she's doing pretty well.

Now for her activities outside of school, we go on out normal morning walks, but because it's dark when I get home from work, we no longer go on the long evening walks. But this will change when we have to change our clocks again on Sunday morning. We should have sunlight when I get home, and should be able to go out for at least an hour or so.

When on the morning walks, we walk by this house that has 4 white poodles in their yard inside the fence. Betty is extremely fearful of going past that house, even more so than the house we pass that usually has a male shepherd. But when we go by the shepherd, she's already worked up from the previous spot. But now, since starting the school, instead of being fearful when going onto that block, she now tenses up at a further distance, and as of this morning, as soon as we hit the sidewalk in front of my house, she's already in fear of going past that house. And we live 2.5 blocks away. It just seems like as we progress in her class, she get's worse outside the class. She's also gone to the point where when a friend came up to shake my hand, she got his arm. This was just out of the blue, she's never done anything like it before, and she knew the person, as they play all the time. So, I'm not really sure where things are going. But I'm taking it all up with the trainer to get advice on what I should work on for the next week.

So, any comments or advice would be helpful. Or even questions, if there's something you would like me to further explain. She still seems to do great with kids, but is becoming more protective, to the point where my friend can't go near his kids when I'm there with Betty. I have to be there, as I'm the only one she even allows near the kids, then I take her away on the leash. And the kids that walk by going to school, she loves the visit each morning.


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## fredalina (Oct 31, 2007)

Good for you! It definitely sounds like you're making progress. And your puppy is so pretty!

Unfortunately the clock change will make it darker earlier in the evening instead of later. You'll have more light in the mornings for a little while, though.


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## Lonewolfblue (Oct 28, 2007)

fredalina said:


> Good for you! It definitely sounds like you're making progress. And your puppy is so pretty!
> 
> Unfortunately the clock change will make it darker earlier in the evening instead of later. You'll have more light in the mornings for a little while, though.


Ouch, lol. Thought I was going to get more light, LOL


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## terryjeanne (Jul 13, 2007)

Regarding the houses she hates to pass; do you walk on the sidewalk beside the house or on the sidewalk across the street?

One house near us has a small yappy dog that my sheltie hates. She focuses on that house when we are about 4 houses away. I find she's a bit better if I cross the street and we aren't so close. She's on my left so I'm between her and the house. I'll call her name, make her sit, heel, treat her if she's looking at me, all the while I'm walking past the horrible house.

Keep up the good work. It will take some time, and you are seeing some progess.


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## Lonewolfblue (Oct 28, 2007)

As for the house with the 4 white poodles, we are on the same side of the street, but their fence is set about 30 yards back off the sidewalk. So there is a distance between us and them. And it doesn't matter what side of the street I'm on, she does the same thing.

As for the shepherd, we are also on the same side of the sidewalk, but that fence is right at the sidewalk, and the shepherd does the same as her, wants to get into it, but she handles it better, not as bad as with the poodles. Sometimes we can get by the shepherd with almost no problems, but she constantly keeps her eyes on him as we pass. There's so many dogs around here that no matter where we go, it's going to be one dog or another. And she does it whether the dog is out or not.

Also, I usually do the same as you with the treats, but on some mornings, if I don't have much time to do a little training, sometimes we'll jog by, when I'm jogging, she tends to look at me more, adjusting her speed with me. But for me with a healing sprained ankle, it hurts, lol.

One last thing, for what the trainer has told me, she said that it's all fear, and with Betty, it's set in really deep. So it's going to take some time. Wish there was an easier way to correct this problem, as I would eventually like to get another dog. Next spring I will be putting up the 6ft fence in the back yard, along with an outdoor kennel with dog houses. Planning on a 2 stall kennel, if I do decide on 2 dogs. Currently she doesn't go in the back yard because it's only a 3ft fence along an open lot. She mainly is either inside or in the front yard, which is surrounded by a 4ft fence.


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## terryjeanne (Jul 13, 2007)

One thing I found I was doing wrong,,, I would tense up and tighten my grip on the leash when we were coming upon another dog (or something that would upset her). I was hardly aware of doing this.

Well, of course the dog feels it and she gets upset and worried.

Now I have to remember to loosen my grip,(or even change hands), smile and I talk to her in a super happy voice. We were walking by a baseball game (all the kids and running could set her off), So I told her """oohhh, look at the kids having fun playing." in a happy voice with a smile.

She looked at me like I was stupid, but she looked at me  She's getting better at walking by other dogs-we just stay on the other side of the street.


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## Lonewolfblue (Oct 28, 2007)

I actually don't tense up like that. Since watching Cesar's videos, that's one thing that I've got from the videos, and I never tense up. Hopefully she will get better soon. This is getting old with her being tensed up over 2 blocks away.


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## Lonewolfblue (Oct 28, 2007)

Class #4:
Today was Betty's next class. She's progressing pretty well. In fact, the trainer was able to bring her dog on the same side of the fence as Betty, and we walked both dogs within 3 feet of each other. She got to where she was pretty comfortable with it. Then we changed it a bit where instead of going the same direction, we would go in opposite directions. She did get pretty stressed as her dog approached. Wasn't too bad when we were in the middle, but the other direction when the dogs were in the middle, that's where she was the most stressed, and was hard to control. But overall, she was much better than previous weeks, and the trainer had a lot of good things to say about it.


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## Lonewolfblue (Oct 28, 2007)

Well, Betty does have her ups and downs, but I think we've made the turning point. She's beginning to feel more confident in herself on our walks. This is helping with her fear aggression problem. Hopefully instead of increasing, it will now start to decrease, and hopefully decrease to zero, as I would love to have her in competitions.

Todays walk started on a more anxious note, she really wanted to get out there, lol. And she was hard to control, as she was pulling. But I started on the Stop and Go drills, where whenever she started to move ahead, I would Stop. She didn't like that, lol. She wanted to Go, lol. But after a short while, she still would pull some, but was more managable.

Then we got down to the trail, and there were a lot of dogs there, lol. More than I expected, lol. But that was a good thing, as I was able to try and work with her fear aggression problem. Then we got to the area that has a lot of trees. I began working on her handling, circling trees, etc. I kept moving and turning, forcing her to keep her eyes on me, and if she didn't, she would get a pinch from her prong collar. We worked on that at a walk for about 20 minutes, then upped it to a faster walk for another 30 minutes, then a jog for 15-20 minutes when I was ready to fall over myself, lol. She did very well, and is now beginning to watch me more, rather than her wanting to lead.

Then the walk home was awsome. She heeled perfectly for 30 minutes. She walked about 1 step behind me, and when I stopped, she sat at my heel. She's never done this before. She did try to pull in front of me a couple times along the way, but I gave a small snap of the leash to get her attention. It wasn't enough for the prong collar to pinch her, just enough that the sound of the chain links tightening slowed her back down. But overall, it was near perfect.

Well, tomorrow is Betty's next class. Will give you an update on how that goes. Hopefully it's even better than last week, even though last week she did Awsome. Will keep you posted.....


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## natureloverchris (Nov 11, 2007)

I am really impressed. It sounds like you are doing a lot of work and she is making progress. One thing I learned I did wrong with my last dog, Coal, was I would reassure him when he was fearful. It actually reinforced that there is something to be afraid of. 

On the houses with the dogs, I would try to do as much training and distraction as you can so you can keep her focused on that instead of her fear. (I hope that made sense).


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## Lonewolfblue (Oct 28, 2007)

Yup, makes sense.....


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## Renoman (Mar 20, 2007)

Good news. Sounds like things are progressing well.


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## Lonewolfblue (Oct 28, 2007)

Yup, she's doing pretty good. I think we wore each other out today, as after we got back and came in the house, she plopped down and slept for at least an hour, maybe a little longer. The whole walk was over 3 hours, lol. 3 hours of not only walking, but forcing her as much as possible to stay alert, as I would change directions often, lol. A 3 hour concentration drill, lol.


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## Lonewolfblue (Oct 28, 2007)

Class #5
Well, Betty's class went pretty good today. The trainer wanted to give her dog a break today, so we worked more on commands, and left her dog inside today. She did very well.

I also got some information from her on AKC Rally as well. We are going to begin some of her training now, as we work on her socialization. On days of bad weather, we will work in her garage on the Rally training, and on good days, dog socialization outside. She's pretty confident we can beat this fear aggression, and she feels Betty will be Outstanding at Rally, and even Obedience. Then, once this is done, she feels we could even go on to Agility, and maybe Utility. Will see what the future holds.


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## ghosthunterbecki (Nov 1, 2007)

You must be really proud of her! Beating fear aggression is *really* hard work, especially when you don't know a dog's history and what they've been through. It sounds like you're both doing really great work!


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## Lonewolfblue (Oct 28, 2007)

Yup, things are progressing pretty good. Just wish the fear part would go faster like the command training is, lol.


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## ghosthunterbecki (Nov 1, 2007)

Dealing with fear is like "reprogramming" the animal from the inside out. I know how tough it is. We never really completed the task with the dog I had that had a strong fear response (she hated men with white hair and the color blue -- and I didn't think they could see color, but that's beside the point). I don't know how she's doing now, because my ex and I broke up a year after we started her behavior training.

I'm sure Betty will come around though... She's got a dedicated owner to take care of her and look after making sure that she gets what she needs. That's what's *really* important for her right now!


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## Lonewolfblue (Oct 28, 2007)

As for Betty, another thing I noticed is she goes after White, lol. I took her to work, and the only persons feet that she went after, and would go after them viciously, is a guy that has a lot of white on his tennis shoes. And he's the one that plays around with her the most as well, but when he moves, she goes after those shoes again, lol.

As for the miniature poodles 2 blocks away, they are also white. And they are the ones she's most fearful of, compared to any other dog we walk by. That's interesting when you mentioned about color. Would like to see if it's white that really triggers her, wouldn't mind seeing how she'd react to a white German Shepherd, like the one in Cesars dog center. Maybe it's not size, but white. I always thought that she was more afraid of smaller dogs, as the rest of the dogs we go by are bigger, but maybe it's the white.


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## ghosthunterbecki (Nov 1, 2007)

In watching the dog, we determined that she'd been owned by a white-haired man who wore a lot of blue. She also didn't like walking sticks, and we began to believe that she'd been beaten with one. She would literally bite the hand that fed her if the hand later carried a walking stick.

I believe that they remember specifics about the things that happened to them, at least to a certain extent. Dog memory is something that we often don't think about, or take the time to really analyze, but if you really consider what might have happened to her before she came to you, things might begin to fall into place.

I'm sure she'll be fine in the long run. It's just a matter of training her mind to react differently to the things that she fears.


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## Lonewolfblue (Oct 28, 2007)

Class #6 (Last Monday): 

Well, Betty's officially started her Rally-O training. It's going to be a lot of work, but a lot of fun as well. We got 3 things to work on this week, but with Thanksgiving, it won't be a lot of training, lol. But that's ok, that's what Holidays do, right? lol. 

Here's the first items we are working on.... 
Heel Back - This is where the dog is sitting in front of you, and when you give the command, you step back with your left leg, bringing your dog around your left side, then stepping back forward with your left leg, with your dog at your left side, then Sit. 

Get Around - This is where the dog is in front of you again, but this time you step back with your right foot, bringing the dog around your right leg, passing the leash from your right hand to the left behind your back, then stepping back forward with the right leg, bringing the dog up to your left side, and Sit. 

Right Turn - This is where your dog is sitting at your left side, and you turn your body 90 degrees to the right, and your dog get's up, get's back to your left side, then Sit. 

Heel and Sit - This is where your dog walks at your left side, and when you stop, the dog stops and Sit's. When you step forward, the dog walks with you and as soon as you stop again, the dog Sit's at your side again. 

Lot's of fun, lol. Her hardest thing is Heel and Sit, lol. She keeps wanting to walk forward when I stop. Will need to break her of this, LOL.


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## ghosthunterbecki (Nov 1, 2007)

Wow! You two are working so hard! I'll bet you're having a lot of fun together!


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## Lonewolfblue (Oct 28, 2007)

ghosthunterbecki said:


> Wow! You two are working so hard! I'll bet you're having a lot of fun together!


Yup, working pretty hard, but not this week, lol. What are holidays for, right? lol. I think for a dog like Betty, you have to do something. If they don't have some work, then the energy get's all built up in them and can become unmanagable. So, if I keep Betty in tune, lots of walking, and keep her brain going, she'll become even more managable.


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## ghosthunterbecki (Nov 1, 2007)

She's a heeler, right? From what I understand, they do need a lot of mental stimulation, but it really does seem like you're giving her that. But everybody does need a break (including Betty  ).

When I was training my first dog, the heel and sit was probably the most difficult thing that we worked on. Recall is tough, stay is tough, but "heel" has just always been a difficult one for me. It's not the same thing as loose-lead walking!


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## Lonewolfblue (Oct 28, 2007)

Yup, we all need a break now and then, lol.....

Yes, she is a Blue Heeler. As for her command, heel seems to be the hardest. Sit is very easy, as well as stay, down, and come. But if there's another dog around, no command works, lol. That's the reason for her Dog Socialization class. And as for her recall, she doesw pretty well unless there's something more powerful, as in another dog, lol.


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## Lonewolfblue (Oct 28, 2007)

Well, Betty has school today, will see how she does. Was going to train near the 4 white poodles that she really fears, but with the snow, the trainer doesn't want to come. So we will be training in her garage again. 

As for yesterday, we went out on a walk with another friend that just got a new dog. So we worked with them today, and got really good results. Still can't let them go together yet, but she's getting used to the other dog. They were within 2 feet of each other and Betty was just laying down with her tongue out, just acting calm as I was petting her. She's never done that before with another dog so close.


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## Inga (Jun 16, 2007)

I don't know how I missed this entire thread but I just wanted to say. It sounds like you are moving ahead very well and that all of your hard work is paying off. I can't wait to hear that she goes to a show and gets her first obedience title in Rally. LOL That is the great thing about dogs. The more you put into them, the more they give back.


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## Lonewolfblue (Oct 28, 2007)

Well, todays class went very well. We went over the first 21 items of the 31 total items in Rally-O. She's still a little sloppy on her heel and sit, but getting better. Once we get the commands down, we will start fine-tuning. And as for her Wait and Stay commands, she does perfect. As well as Come. She also Sit's and Down's at a distance. But if there's any distractions, forget it, lol.

As for the walk today afterwards with my friends dog, ouch, lol. She was 10 times worse than she's been, and really wanted at his dog. I wish Cesar was here, lol, would put her dog in with all his pits, lol. I'm not sure a dog here and a dog there is going to help much, she needs real socialization with lots of dogs. Any input on this? 

I used the Gentle Leader today, as the friend wanted something that would close her mouth if she lunged, as his dog is really small. Normally I use a prong collar when I have her in training.

Here's what we get to work on now....

*May be used multiple times on a course.

1. START – Indicates the beginning of the course.
2.FINISH – Indicates the end of the course - timing stops.
3. HALT – Sit. While heeling, the handler halts and the dog comes to a sit in heel position. The team then moves forward toward the next exercise sign (station), with the dog in heel position. (Stationary exercise)
4. HALT – Sit – Down. While heeling, the handler halts and the dog comes to a sit. The handler then commands the dog to down, followed by the command to heel forward from the down position. (Stationary exercise)
5. * Right Turn. Performed as a 90º turn to the right, as in traditional obedience.
6. * Left Turn. Performed as a 90º turn to the left, as in traditional obedience.
7. *About Turn – Right. While heeling, the team makes a 180º about turn to the handler’s right.
8. * About “U” Turn. While heeling, the team makes a 180º about turn to the handler’s left.
9. * 270° Right Turn. While heeling, the team makes a 270º turn to the handler’s right. 270° turns are performed as a tight circle, but not around the exercise sign.
10. * 270° Left Turn. While heeling, the team makes a 270º turn to the handler’s left. 270º turns are performed as a tight circle, but not around the exercise sign.
11. 360° Right Turn. While heeling, the team makes a 360º turn to the handler’s right. 360º turns are performed as a tight circle, but not around the exercise sign.
12. 360° Left Turn. While heeling, the team makes a 360º turn to the handler’s left. 360º turns are performed as a tight circle, but not around the exercise sign.
13. Call Front – Finish Right - Forward. While heeling, the handler stops forward motion and calls the dog to the front position (dog sits in front and faces the handler). The handler may take several steps backward as the dog turns and moves to sit in the front position. The second part of the exercise directs the handler to move forward while commanding the dog to change from the front position to the handler’s right, around behind the handler and to heel position, as the handler continues forward. The dog does not sit before moving forward in heel position with the handler. (Stationary exercise)
14. Call Front – Finish Left - Forward. While heeling, the handler stops forward motion and calls the dog to the front position (dog sits in front and faces the handler). The handler may take several steps backward as the dog turns and moves to sit in the front position. The second part of the exercise directs the handler to move forward while commanding the dog to change from the front position to the handler’s left and moving to heel position, as the handler continues forward. The dog does not sit before moving forward in heel position with the handler. (Stationary exercise)
15. Call Front – Finish Right - HALT. While heeling, the handler stops forward motion and calls the dog to the front position (dog sits in front and faces the handler). The handler may take several steps backward as the dog turns and moves to sit in the front position. The second part is the finish to the right, where the dog must return to heel position by moving around the right side of the handler. Dog must sit in heel position before moving forward with the handler. (Stationary exercise)
16. Call Front – Finish Left - HALT. While heeling, the handler stops forward motion and calls the dog to the front position (dog sits in front and faces the handler). The handler may take several steps backward as the dog turns and moves to a sit in the front position. The second part is the finish to the left, where the dog must move to the handler’s left and sit in heel position. Dog must sit in heel position before moving forward in heel position with the handler. (Stationary exercise)
17. * Slow Pace. Dog and handler must slow down noticeably. This must be followed by a normal pace, unless it is the last station in the class.
18. * Fast Pace. Dog and handler must speed up noticeably. This must be followed by a normal pace, unless it is the last station in the class.
19. * Normal Pace. Dog and handler must move forward, walking briskly and naturally.
20. Moving Side Step Right. While heeling, the handler takes one step diagonally to the right and continues moving forward along the newly established line. The dog maintains heel position. The exercise may be performed just past the exercise sign.
21. Spiral Right – Dog Outside. This exercise requires three pylons or posts placed in a straight line with spaces between them of approximately 6 - 8 feet. Spiral Right indicates the handler must turn to the right when moving around each pylon or post. The first pass is going around all 3 pylons, then the 2nd pass you go around only 2 pylons, and the final pass you just go around 1 pylon.
22. Spiral Left – Dog Inside. This exercise requires three pylons or posts placed in a straight line with spaces between them of approximately 6 - 8 feet. Spiral Left indicates that the handler must turn to the left when moving around each pylon or post. This places the dog on the inside of the turns. The exercise sign is placed near or on the first pylon or post where the spiral is started. The first pass is going around all 3 pylons, then the 2nd pass you go around only 2 pylons, and the final pass you just go around 1 pylon.
23. Straight Figure 8 Weave Twice. This exercise requires four obstacles (pylons, posts or people) placed in a straight line with spaces between them of approximately 6 - 8 feet. The exercise sign is placed near or on the first obstacle where the exercise is started. Entry into the weaving pattern is with the first obstacle at the dog/handler’s left side.
24. Serpentine Weave Once. This exercise requires four obstacles (pylons, posts or people) placed in a straight line with spaces between them of approximately 6 - 8 feet. The exercise sign is placed near or on the first obstacle where the exercise is started. Entry into the weaving pattern is with the first obstacle at the dog/handler’s left side. It should be noted that in this exercise, the team does not weave back through the obstacles as they do in the Straight Figure 8.
25. HALT – 1, 2, 3 Steps Forward. The team halts with the dog sitting in heel position to begin the exercise. The handler takes one step forward, with the dog maintaining heel position, and halts. The dog sits when the handler halts. This is followed by two steps forward - halt, and three steps forward - halt, with the dog heeling each time the handler moves forward, and sitting each time the handler halts. (Stationary exercise)
26. Call Front – 1, 2, 3 Steps Backward. While heeling, the handler stops forward motion and calls the dog to the front position (dog sits in front and faces the handler). The handler may take several steps backward as the dog turns and moves to a sit in the front position. With the dog in the front position, the handler takes one step backward and halts. The dog moves with the handler and sits in the front position as the handler halts. This is followed by the handler taking two steps backward and a halt, and three steps backward and a halt. Each time, the dog moves with the handler to the front position and sits as the handler halts. The handler then commands the dog to resume heel position as the team moves forward toward the next station. (Stationary exercise)
27. Moving Down. While moving with the dog in heel position, the handler commands the dog to drop to a down position, as the handler pauses next to the dog. Once the dog is completely in the down position, the handler moves forward commanding the dog to heel from the down position. (Stationary exercise)
28. HALT – Fast Forward From Sit. With the dog sitting in heel position, the handler commands the dog to heel and immediately moves forward at a fast pace. This must be followed by a normal pace, unless it is the last station in the class. (Stationary exercise)
29. Left About Turn. While moving with the dog in heel position, the handler makes an about turn to the left, while at the same time, the dog must move around the handler to the right and to heel position. The dog does not sit before moving forward in heel position with the handler.
30. HALT – Walk Around Dog. With the dog sitting in heel position, the handler commands the dog to stay, then proceeds to walk around the dog to the left, returning to heel position. The handler must pause in heel position before moving forward to the next station. (Stationary exercise)
31. HALT – Down – Walk Around Dog. With dog sitting in heel position, the handler commands the dog to down and stay, then proceeds to walk around the dog to the left, returning to heel position. The handler must pause in heel position before moving forward to the next station.The dog heels forward from the down position. (Stationary exercise)


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## Lonewolfblue (Oct 28, 2007)

Well, another thing that the trainer and I talked about is what Betty really is, lol. Betty is now starting to change colors. She's starting to get red/brown on the top of the head and back of the neck, as well as all 4 legs. It's quite interesting to see. I think she's also started to change under the chin as well, but it's harder to see. So, we got out the trainers AKC book, and the description of the ACD (Australian Cattle Dog) seems to fit her perfectly, down to all the body features as well as her tail. She seems to also think that she's a pure breed as well. Wish I knew exactly, lol.


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## ghosthunterbecki (Nov 1, 2007)

Well she's beautiful either way!

I hope you and the mods don't think I'm stepping on toes here, but I think it might be a good idea for more people to be directed to your thread in terms of Betty's training *because* of the way it focuses on giving her a sense of purpose. We have members here who don't see the importance of that with their dogs, and it seems as though that sense of purpose is really affecting Betty!


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## Lonewolfblue (Oct 28, 2007)

ghosthunterbecki said:


> Well she's beautiful either way!
> 
> I hope you and the mods don't think I'm stepping on toes here, but I think it might be a good idea for more people to be directed to your thread in terms of Betty's training *because* of the way it focuses on giving her a sense of purpose. We have members here who don't see the importance of that with their dogs, and it seems as though that sense of purpose is really affecting Betty!


Oh, and don't forget, it's FUN for her too. Not only does it give her a purpose, but she's having fun doing it too.


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## Lonewolfblue (Oct 28, 2007)

Not to get too far off topic, but I was cruising a site for an ACD Rescue and found something said about dogs in general. Here's what it said....

"It is important to understand the whole dynamic of kids and dogs when considering adding a new dog to a family with children OR when thinking of adding a new human to an already existing family with dogs."


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## Lonewolfblue (Oct 28, 2007)

Here's Betty in training....


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## DogsforMe (Mar 11, 2007)

For something to do on days when you can't go outside, teach her to fetch. You can hide her favorite toys around the room. Make it easy at 1st, then start to hide them. Teach her the names of objects & get her to bring them to you.


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## Lonewolfblue (Oct 28, 2007)

Well, we had another day of class today. Instead of going to the trainers house, the trainer brought her dogs to my house, and we did a walk around the area where I take Betty on her morning walks, and of course, spent about 25 minutes in front of the dreaded white poodles, lol. And also, not all the poodles were there today, lol. Only 2 came out.

The trainer had her Sheltie with us on the walk, and Betty did her usual thing, and took us a while to calm her down. But half-way through the walk, she was paying more attention to the other dogs we passed instead of the Sheltie. And the Sheltie could get within 2 feet of Betty without her going off on it. After the walk, we sat out on the driveway a bit and I was petting Betty, and the sheltie was sitting only 2 feet away. 

Lessons learned: Well, my corrections were not being properly applied. She worked with me on the Proper corrections, as we really never used the corrections around the Sheltie much at her house. We would use Sit and treats and praise mostly. So now I know what I need to work on. She went over with me what I was doing wrong. Instead of a correction, I was only giving short tugs back that weren't doing much and then even with the prong collar on, she would pull. So hopefully with what I've learned today, we can begin to move forward.

Also, this last week at home, we've been working more on her Out command. When she has her ball, she would Never let go of it. But if I brought treats to the game, she would Never pick up the ball so we could practice Out. But when she would drop the ball, I would say Good Out. Well, for some reason yesterday, all of a sudden, she released the ball when I said out, lol. So I threw the ball, she got it, and I went to grab the ball and said Out, and she released it. I did that several times yesterday. So, no treats are involved with the Out anymore, I want it to sink in deep that if I say Out, it means to drop whatever she has. Very important in the case that she might get a hold of something that could harm her.


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## Lonewolfblue (Oct 28, 2007)

We had another day of class Monday, and all went pretty good. We did some Rally training, but mostly talked about Betty's problems. The trainer went over her working with a Beagle as well, which has the same problem as Betty, but not as bad. The Beagle's class period is right before Betty's. Now the Beagle walks side-by-side with the trainers dogs. But for Betty, it's set in so deep it's going to be a tough one to crack. But she's confident.

After class, a friend came over with his dog. So we started to work with Betty and his dog. Betty was pretty bad at first, and then he asked if we could switch dogs. So he took Betty and I took his Chiwawa. He's had his own dog training business a long time ago until he got into some problems and his ex took everything. He went over with me the way to properly apply the corrections. And it went really fast. After about 30 minutes, we had Betty really close to his dog, and then he wanted us to take both dogs on a walk down the street a couple blocks to the poodles that Betty fears. Well, it only took 1 correction and Betty was no longer paying attention to the poodles, but rather looking at him for direction. Also, at this time, Betty was walking side-by-side with his dog. Then we switched back, and walked back to my house. It was a milestone that we covered in a short time. Then, in the yard, Betty did try to nip at his dog, so we worked a little more at it. We actually got to where Betty actually sniffed his dog, but she still wouldn't let his dog sniff her. We will be continuing the training as well, but giving the dogs a break for a couple days, as his dog got really stressed.

After the training, it was time for WWE, and we had his dog in Betty's kennel and Betty loose in the house. She did very well, staying with us and not going to the kennel. And being the kennel is Betty's safe haven that she loves, I'm suprised that Betty didn't mind at all. But a couple times when we went to visit his dog, Betty did get close a couple times and did try to go at the kennel, but we stopped her. Then I had her go up on the bed, and she just layed there looking at us, wanting to be petted and rubbed down. Had no interest in the other dog. So, all in all, was a good day.

Now for the problem, this mornings walk was going good until we came up on a yellow lab that was with another guy, but not on a leash. I decided to cross the street, and go around them. Well, when the lab saw Betty, it charged at her and thought that it was going to attack Betty. Went straight at Betty's head, causing Betty to go defensive, and Betty got him on the beak and would not let go. Took about 3 minutes to get her to let go, and he was bleeding. First time she ever drew blood. But the other owner said his dog's ok and apologized for his dog charging us like he did, he knew he could have been in trouble, as I was under full control of my dog, and even went across the street to go around them, and he had no control over his dog, and was not on a leash. Don't know why I'm such a nice guy, lol. But because of this, which is the 4th time Betty got another dog, but the first time she drew blood, after work today we went and got Betty a Muzzle. Going to take it on walks from now on, and if we see a dog in the distance not on a leash, the muzzle will go on til we get around them and back in the clear. Then will take it back off. We are also going to use the muzzle with the training with my friends dog as well, and will hope to let both dogs loose in my fenced-in yard with the muzzle on Betty. 

So, overall, Betty starts to improve, but then drops back to where she was or further back, lol. I'm hoping that with that friend of mine, which we can actually train almost every day if I wanted, maybe we will be able to make some progress. But I don't want to stress his dog out too much. So we are thinking every 2-3 days we will work with them, which is like 3-4 days a week, as well as what we do with Betty's trainer once a week on her Rally stuff. Any comments welcome....


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## terryjeanne (Jul 13, 2007)

One question and one comment....

What was the correction your friend used that worked with Betty? Was it
the same correction the trainer uses?

I have to say, I admire your commitment and determination to help Betty overcome her issues. I look forward to reading about her progess (however small).


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## Betty (Apr 15, 2007)

I'd hate to see you make your leashed, controlled dog defenseless because of an unleashed, uncontrolled dog.  

And I feel for you, I'm trying to get my little pom to not freak out and run whenever she sees another dog. She's been charged at several times by unleashed dogs, which has terrified her, so every time I'm making progress, some idiot dog owner takes it back a few steps for me.


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## Lonewolfblue (Oct 28, 2007)

terryjeanne said:


> One question and one comment....
> 
> What was the correction your friend used that worked with Betty? Was it
> the same correction the trainer uses?
> ...


Same correction but more in line with her actions. The more aggressive she is, the harder the correction. After the first couple, she got the message that he was in control.



Betty said:


> I'd hate to see you make your leashed, controlled dog defenseless because of an unleashed, uncontrolled dog.


Actually, it's not about making her defenseless. It's more about her knowing I'm the leader, and that if I don't make any moves like I'm afraid of the oncoming dog that it's ok.


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## Lonewolfblue (Oct 28, 2007)

Betty had class again today. We did some more Rally stuff. Then the trainer wanted to test her Stay. So I put Betty in a Sit Stay, then turned away and walked away. After 15 seconds, the trainer told me to return to her. Betty Stayed perfectly. Then we did her Down Stay, and did 30 seconds. No problem, she didn't move a muscle. Then we did Sit Stay 2 more times, once for 45 seconds, and another just over a minute. She did perfect. Then I looked at the trainer and told her she wasn't waiting long enough, lol. I told her with our Hide and Seek at home, she'll wait over 10 minutes, and not move. 

Then we also worked on the Serpentine. It's where you weave through cones. Betty was pretty sloppy still on her heeling, still needs a lot of work. But she's getting there. I was also tightening up the leash a little to guide her, but the trainer told me not to. In Rally, they dock points for a tight leash. So I just held onto the loop at the end of the leash, and let it dangle. Betty seemed to heel much better. I also have to learn to talk to her more. In Rally, you are allowed to talk to the dog, and pat your leg. You just can't touch the dog. It's not like Obedience where you can't do that. But overall, Betty is doing pretty well. I just wish I had a large indoor place I could go to work with her, as it's been pretty cold outside, and it keeps me inside more than I should be. The cold also affects my ankle that I badly sprained a while back, and I can only do so much.

One last thing we worked on is our 1 Step, Stop Sit, 2 Steps, Stop Sit, 3 Steps, Stop Sit. Her Sit's are still pathetic, lol. She keeps kicking her butt out so she's facing me more. We got to stop this, LOL. But she is getting better.


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## Lonewolfblue (Oct 28, 2007)

Well, Betty is getting much better at her Rally stuff. She's heeling very well, both on leash, and off leash. But she does get sidetracked real easy. When I was going through a routine, and the trainer said something, Betty broke away and went to her because she knew the trainer has better food than I do, lol. We also started to train Betty on how to Crawl. She's doing really good with that too. She's just amazing as to how fast she can learn. Just wish she would get over her fear of other dogs.

As for the poodles, as long as I hold the leash behind me and allowing her to move behind me and over to my right side so I'm between her and the poodles, she doesn't lunge at them. But when she's on my left side, you can see the fear. She has to get over this.


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## Lonewolfblue (Oct 28, 2007)

Well, had class with Betty today. It went great. We went over more Rally stuff, and worked on her Heeling. She's doing much, much better. We also added another command to her list, Place. The trainer has a small square stand that she uses and has the dog sit on the stand when the command Place is said. Eventually we would like to get Betty to Place from a distance, right now it's with us next to the stand. The trainers Border Collie has a spot in her yard that she goes when the trainer says Place, then when the trainer points at a particular jump, the Border Collie will make the jump and come back to Heel position. She did that when she gave me the demo of Rally a couple months ago. We would like to get Betty to that point as well, and she's definitely picking it up very quickly.

As for her fear issues, we've stopped working on that for a bit. It's just too cold out, and too snowy and icy. We are going to wait til it warms up a little and the sidewalks melt, then we will start back with the other dogs. It's just so slick out right now, even my morning walks are a little dangerous, and I've fallen a couple times.

Another command we've added to her list is Crawl. We introduced that one to her last week. And she's doing it pretty well, just not from a distance yet. Will take a little time.

I also went to Dogwise.com today and checked them out. Found out they are only about a half mile away, or a little further. Talk about awsome. So many books and videos, lol. I bought Really Reliable Recall as well as The Language of Dogs. My next purchase is going to be Am I Safe? And there's so many others I want too, lol. But I think those 3 are my main ones I wanted.

As for the walks, Betty is starting to get a little better. Not a lot, but a little. It's starting to show. As long as I keep her on a loose leash, whenever we go by the other dogs, she just goes behind me and over to my right side so I'm in the middle, and she's fine. Occasionally they will get to her and she will lunge once or twice, but for the most part, she's doing better. But really has that fear, and don't like other dogs coming towards her at all. Hopefully we can beat this.


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## Lonewolfblue (Oct 28, 2007)

*Here's Betty's current list......* 

Sit - Voice/hand command 
Down - Voice/hand command 
Stay - Voice/hand command 
Come - Voice/hand command 
Good Dog 
Bad Dog 
Potty 
Up - Voice only 
Jump - Voice only 
Let's Go 
no - Voice/hand command 
ah-ah (Goes with no) 
Betty - Her name 
In the house (She goes in her kennel) 
Out of the house (She comes out of her kennel) 
Go for Walk (To go for a walk) 
ball 
toy 
Get the ball - Brings the ball. 
Where's the ball - Goes and touches the ball with nose, returns with no ball. 
Get the toy - Brings the toy. 
Where's the toy - Goes and touches the toy with nose, returns with no toy. 

*Words she's currently learning... *
Out 
Crawl 
Place 
Heel - Learning Voice/Hand Command 
Watch me - Learning Voice/Hand Command 

*Rally things she does.... These are done on leash, and some she will do well off leash as well. Still sloppy on some of the things, we are now in the phase of tweaking everything in. Hoping we can get her in the Dog Show here locally, for Rally-O Novice, in September. *

*May be used multiple times on a course. 

1. START – Indicates the beginning of the course. 
2.FINISH – Indicates the end of the course - timing stops. 
3. HALT – Sit. While heeling, the handler halts and the dog comes to a sit in heel position. The team then moves forward toward the next exercise sign (station), with the dog in heel position. (Stationary exercise) 
4. HALT – Sit – Down. While heeling, the handler halts and the dog comes to a sit. The handler then commands the dog to down, followed by the command to heel forward from the down position. (Stationary exercise) 
5. * Right Turn. Performed as a 90º turn to the right, as in traditional obedience. 
6. * Left Turn. Performed as a 90º turn to the left, as in traditional obedience. 
7. *About Turn – Right. While heeling, the team makes a 180º about turn to the handler’s right. 
8. * About “U” Turn. While heeling, the team makes a 180º about turn to the handler’s left. 
9. * 270° Right Turn. While heeling, the team makes a 270º turn to the handler’s right. 270° turns are performed as a tight circle, but not around the exercise sign. 
10. * 270° Left Turn. While heeling, the team makes a 270º turn to the handler’s left. 270º turns are performed as a tight circle, but not around the exercise sign. 
11. 360° Right Turn. While heeling, the team makes a 360º turn to the handler’s right. 360º turns are performed as a tight circle, but not around the exercise sign. 
12. 360° Left Turn. While heeling, the team makes a 360º turn to the handler’s left. 360º turns are performed as a tight circle, but not around the exercise sign. 
13. Call Front – Finish Right - Forward. While heeling, the handler stops forward motion and calls the dog to the front position (dog sits in front and faces the handler). The handler may take several steps backward as the dog turns and moves to sit in the front position. The second part of the exercise directs the handler to move forward while commanding the dog to change from the front position to the handler’s right, around behind the handler and to heel position, as the handler continues forward. The dog does not sit before moving forward in heel position with the handler. (Stationary exercise) 
14. Call Front – Finish Left - Forward. While heeling, the handler stops forward motion and calls the dog to the front position (dog sits in front and faces the handler). The handler may take several steps backward as the dog turns and moves to sit in the front position. The second part of the exercise directs the handler to move forward while commanding the dog to change from the front position to the handler’s left and moving to heel position, as the handler continues forward. The dog does not sit before moving forward in heel position with the handler. (Stationary exercise) 
15. Call Front – Finish Right - HALT. While heeling, the handler stops forward motion and calls the dog to the front position (dog sits in front and faces the handler). The handler may take several steps backward as the dog turns and moves to sit in the front position. The second part is the finish to the right, where the dog must return to heel position by moving around the right side of the handler. Dog must sit in heel position before moving forward with the handler. (Stationary exercise) 
16. Call Front – Finish Left - HALT. While heeling, the handler stops forward motion and calls the dog to the front position (dog sits in front and faces the handler). The handler may take several steps backward as the dog turns and moves to a sit in the front position. The second part is the finish to the left, where the dog must move to the handler’s left and sit in heel position. Dog must sit in heel position before moving forward in heel position with the handler. (Stationary exercise) 
17. * Slow Pace. Dog and handler must slow down noticeably. This must be followed by a normal pace, unless it is the last station in the class. 
18. * Fast Pace. Dog and handler must speed up noticeably. This must be followed by a normal pace, unless it is the last station in the class. 
19. * Normal Pace. Dog and handler must move forward, walking briskly and naturally. 
20. Moving Side Step Right. While heeling, the handler takes one step diagonally to the right and continues moving forward along the newly established line. The dog maintains heel position. The exercise may be performed just past the exercise sign. 
21. Spiral Right – Dog Outside. This exercise requires three pylons or posts placed in a straight line with spaces between them of approximately 6 - 8 feet. Spiral Right indicates the handler must turn to the right when moving around each pylon or post. The first pass is going around all 3 pylons, then the 2nd pass you go around only 2 pylons, and the final pass you just go around 1 pylon. 
22. Spiral Left – Dog Inside. This exercise requires three pylons or posts placed in a straight line with spaces between them of approximately 6 - 8 feet. Spiral Left indicates that the handler must turn to the left when moving around each pylon or post. This places the dog on the inside of the turns. The exercise sign is placed near or on the first pylon or post where the spiral is started. The first pass is going around all 3 pylons, then the 2nd pass you go around only 2 pylons, and the final pass you just go around 1 pylon. 
23. Straight Figure 8 Weave Twice. This exercise requires four obstacles (pylons, posts or people) placed in a straight line with spaces between them of approximately 6 - 8 feet. The exercise sign is placed near or on the first obstacle where the exercise is started. Entry into the weaving pattern is with the first obstacle at the dog/handler’s left side. 
24. Serpentine Weave Once. This exercise requires four obstacles (pylons, posts or people) placed in a straight line with spaces between them of approximately 6 - 8 feet. The exercise sign is placed near or on the first obstacle where the exercise is started. Entry into the weaving pattern is with the first obstacle at the dog/handler’s left side. It should be noted that in this exercise, the team does not weave back through the obstacles as they do in the Straight Figure 8. 
25. HALT – 1, 2, 3 Steps Forward. The team halts with the dog sitting in heel position to begin the exercise. The handler takes one step forward, with the dog maintaining heel position, and halts. The dog sits when the handler halts. This is followed by two steps forward - halt, and three steps forward - halt, with the dog heeling each time the handler moves forward, and sitting each time the handler halts. (Stationary exercise) 
26. Call Front – 1, 2, 3 Steps Backward. While heeling, the handler stops forward motion and calls the dog to the front position (dog sits in front and faces the handler). The handler may take several steps backward as the dog turns and moves to a sit in the front position. With the dog in the front position, the handler takes one step backward and halts. The dog moves with the handler and sits in the front position as the handler halts. This is followed by the handler taking two steps backward and a halt, and three steps backward and a halt. Each time, the dog moves with the handler to the front position and sits as the handler halts. The handler then commands the dog to resume heel position as the team moves forward toward the next station. (Stationary exercise) 
27. Moving Down. While moving with the dog in heel position, the handler commands the dog to drop to a down position, as the handler pauses next to the dog. Once the dog is completely in the down position, the handler moves forward commanding the dog to heel from the down position. (Stationary exercise) 
28. HALT – Fast Forward From Sit. With the dog sitting in heel position, the handler commands the dog to heel and immediately moves forward at a fast pace. This must be followed by a normal pace, unless it is the last station in the class. (Stationary exercise) 
29. Left About Turn. While moving with the dog in heel position, the handler makes an about turn to the left, while at the same time, the dog must move around the handler to the right and to heel position. The dog does not sit before moving forward in heel position with the handler. 
30. HALT – Walk Around Dog. With the dog sitting in heel position, the handler commands the dog to stay, then proceeds to walk around the dog to the left, returning to heel position. The handler must pause in heel position before moving forward to the next station. (Stationary exercise) 
31. HALT – Down – Walk Around Dog. With dog sitting in heel position, the handler commands the dog to down and stay, then proceeds to walk around the dog to the left, returning to heel position. The handler must pause in heel position before moving forward to the next station.The dog heels forward from the down position. (Stationary exercise)


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## ChrissyBz (Aug 10, 2007)

WOW, you've done a LOT of work! Congratulations. How's she doing on the fear? She must be getting better after all that confidence building and constant stimulation. Good for you!


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## SK63 (Jan 15, 2008)

Great dog...beautiful and great work with her ! As to fear, I hate to doubt a trainer with 30 years but none of that sounds like fear, sounds as if she is protecting you. Difficult to tell without seeing it in person though.


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## Lonewolfblue (Oct 28, 2007)

As for the fear, she still has it deep. And we do believe that it is really fear. When around other dogs, if she is forced to be between me and the other dog, she lunges at the dog. But if allowed, she prefers to go around my back side and to the opposite side where I'm in the middle. And if the dog is coming towards us, she feels more threatened, and lunges as well. With going by the poodles, as long as I let her go to my right side, and allow her to circle wider away from them, she's fine and doesn't lunge. So I think it's starting to pay off, she is doing a little better.

As for protecting me, if that were the case, she wouldn't want me in the middle. So that is why I feel confident it is fear, and that is why my trainer feels the same. I also asked that friend of mine that just got his Chiwawa, and he feels the same, it's fear. But as for the source of the fear, we don't know if it's because she was attacked as a pup, or just never ever been around other dogs til now.

Also, I've been looking at other dogs as well. If I can get her to the point where we can work with her and a 2nd dog, I'm looking at either a Border Collie or an Aussie Shepherd. And hopefully I can find a dog that will be a good communicator, to help with Betty. Been watching some videos on Dog Language, and they have been very eye opening.


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## ChrissyBz (Aug 10, 2007)

It wasn't too long ago you were feeling very disheartened. It's so good to hear the change in tone of your posts. Good Job!


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## Lonewolfblue (Oct 28, 2007)

Actually, I kind of still feel the same way, but like I said, any improvement is a step forward. At the time, I wan't seeing any progress, so I was ready to give up, or close to it. But as long as there's progress, there will be no giving up. She's got a great home, and would really be hard to get rid of her. She just needs to Calm Down, lol. Typical pups, lol. My manager at work has a 13 year old red heeler, and she still acts like a 6 month old pup, and when he takes his eye off her, she's over his 6ft fence, lol. And that's at 13 years old. So with Betty, that's a long, very energetic life ahead of us, LOL.


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## SK63 (Jan 15, 2008)

Yeah, I latched on to the protection thing as you mentioned she is protective of your children and also didn't seem to have a problem fighting off a Lab. What happened when the Lab attacked, did she make an attempt to run (or get behind you) or just fight ? Is it possible to check her behavior off leash, especially on walks by the poodles ?


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## Lonewolfblue (Oct 28, 2007)

I don't have kids, lol. That was my neighbors kids, and I had to go and get Betty because she wouldn't let their dad near them, lol. So he came and got me, lol.

As for the lab, the lab was charging at her. When Betty saw that, she felt threatened, and wanted it. And she was the faster of the 2 and she got him good. But when we got them separated, Betty went behind me and stayed behind me as the owner of the lab was taking him away.

Actually, I really don't want to take her off the leash by the poodles. Reason being, it's on a fairly busy street, and she tends to chase trucks. She could care less about cars and SUV's, but she goes for pickup trucks and the big garbage truck, lol. Kind of strange, lol.


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## SK63 (Jan 15, 2008)

Lonewolfblue said:


> As for the lab, the lab was charging at her. When Betty saw that, she felt threatened, and wanted it. And she was the faster of the 2 and she got him good. But when we got them separated, Betty went behind me and stayed behind me as the owner of the lab was taking him away.


Betty is uncomfortable (fearful) of the feeling associated with her aggression. So in other words, the aggression is causing the fear, not the other way around. I still think it's protective based, maybe overly protective of herself. but hard to say. I don't think a fight or fights with dogs in her earlier years would cause this response unless it was repeated fights and she always lost. Have you had her since a pup or know her history ? She's extremely smart dog. Possibly someone used heavy handed tactics when she showed signs of being protective and she now associates her urge to protect with negatives and this causes fear.

Just some thoughts, probably off base.


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## Lonewolfblue (Oct 28, 2007)

No, I don't know any of her history. Have had her only about 4-5 months now, and she was about 8-12 months old when I got her. So almost a year old. She's now probably about a year to a year and 4 months old.


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## snow (Oct 23, 2007)

I'm really glad to hear all the progress you are making with your beautiful girl! Keep us updated!


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## Lonewolfblue (Oct 28, 2007)

I also forgot to mention, my trainer is wanting to take her 2 dogs down to Ellensburg to have her dogs tested on herding. I told her that if she decides to do it, to let me know. I would like to take Betty as well. Would like to see how she would react.

Well, I got to thinking about a couple things, so I decided to send my Vet. an email. I sent them for info on OFA certification radiographs for hip and elbow conformation and Penn Hip radiographs. I also asked if they work with anyone that does DNA testing, to see what breeds are strongest in her, and sent them the link to http://www.wisdompanel.com/ just in case they didn't and see if they would get info from them. And of course, I asked on the costs of everything as well. Would be interesting to get all that info, as well as add it to her records. But for now, it's just getting the info.


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## Rough_Collies2008 (Jan 4, 2008)

Betty is a beautiful dog! It sounds like you have come really far with her, she definitely sounds like a smart dog.

I hope her fear issues get better with time. Sounds like if she is going to conquer it she will under your care, you really are doing a wonderful job working with her.


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## Lonewolfblue (Oct 28, 2007)

I got 3 great DVD's yesterday. One is for aggressive dog behaviour and how to correct it. It's called Cujo Meets Pavlov! It's great. It's a 6 hour DVD set. http://www.dogwise.com/itemdetails.cfm?ID=DTB903

Also, I got a DVD that shows you step by step how a dog behaviourist does a full assessment on the dogs at the shelters. It's called Am I Safe: The Art & Science of Canine Behavior Assessments. Awsome DVD. It's almost a full 4 hours. http://www.dogwise.com/itemdetails.cfm?ID=DTB876P

I also got The Dog Whisperer. http://www.dogwise.com/itemdetails.cfm?ID=DTB964 Great training DVD. And no, this one is NOT Cesar Milan. And this guy calls himself the first dog whisperer, and his techniques are completely the opposite of Cesars. Doesn't use any aggressive, hitting, putting down, shocking, etc. He only uses Praise, treats, and toys.


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## SK63 (Jan 15, 2008)

Cool ! Excellent links you posted, please keep us up to date on this, I'm very interested how she progresses !


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## Lonewolfblue (Oct 28, 2007)

Also, another reason for posting these videos is if I do decide on going to an animal behaviorist to get her assessment as to what we need to do, I will probably go to Kathy Sdao (250.00/day), over here on the coast. Kind of spendy, but I think it would be well worth it. But first, will see what Kathy has in her video seminar, Cuju Meets Povlov!


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## Lonewolfblue (Oct 28, 2007)

We went on a walk today, a place where I thought there would be no dogs, and off-leash. Because of the snow, not a lot of people ever go here. We were walking down by a part of the park where the ball fields are, and it's surrounded by chain link fence. We were going along a fence where there were some houses on the other side, and all was well. We kept walking til we got near the other end of the fields and turned around and came back. What I didn't know was at one of the houses, there was a male min pin. He came out barking, and Betty went up to the fence. The min pin seemed afraid at first, then came up to the fence as well. I tried calling Betty, but she did not listen. Then the dogs started sniffing through the chain link fence, and then the min pin started running along the fence and Betty followed. Normally by now, Betty would be wanting to attack, but her body posture showed no sign of fear or aggression at all. Looking at her ears, body, and tail, there was no fear at all. And instead of her tail wagging high and erradically, it was wagging down in the middle, and very calmly, and her body showed no signs of a stiff body at all. She did not bark at all, and was more than willing to sniff and play. Then the min pin started barking, and did the play bow, and started running back and forth up and down the 100 feet or so of fence line. And Betty played along with. It was great. The only time I saw any aggression was when I decided it was enough and we had to go and I walked up to her and got her collar to put her leash on, then she mildly tried to lunge at the other dog. So I'm more than convinced that she is fearful of other dogs, but it is only when on leash. But I do not feel comfortable of letting her loose with other dogs just yet unless there is a fence between, so she can get some used to other dogs in this way. She did very well, and I was really happy with her today. Now she is tuckered out and laying on the top of the sofa back and my shoulder, lol. She just lays there watches out the window, but she's now half asleep, lol. She had a good day.... 

Edit:
Also, just so you know, this lasted about 25-30 minutes. Also, the owner of the min pin was also standing outside, about 20 yards back from the fence, and I was standing about 15-20 yards from the fence as well. We were both watching, and the other owner had a smile on his face....

Oh, Betty is now snoring, lol. And loud, lol.


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## ChrissyBz (Aug 10, 2007)

That's so good to hear. A nice surprise for a lazy sunday, no?


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## Lonewolfblue (Oct 28, 2007)

yup, a nice suprise....


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## SK63 (Jan 15, 2008)

If she was fearful of other dogs, the last thing she would be doing is having a big old time with another dog especially since she had a choice, being off leash. The aggression started when you introduced two things in to the equation. YOU and the LEASH. So that narrows it down. The next experiment would be to walk up to her while in that situation without putting the leash on and hang out a bit while you are very close to her and the other dog is there. Note her reactions then put the leash on, note reaction. Also have someone other than you take her in that same situation with the leash on and note reaction. What does she do when someone strange comes to the door or comes inside ? Any aggressive reactions ? Have you seen this book ?

http://www.dogwise.com/itemdetails.cfm?ID=DTB766


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## Lonewolfblue (Oct 28, 2007)

Just a quick note, when I did walk up, she was still just having a ball and sniffing the other dog. It wasn't til I took her by the collar and put the leash on that she started her lunging, but it didn't last long. Just a couple steps away and she was following me. Was not fixiated on the other dog like she would normally be at that close range. 

As for strangers, when someone comes to the yard when I'm inside, she wants the other person to play. And even when I'm outside, she does the same. She also likes the mail lady because she always has treats for her, and is very good with dogs. And as for Fedex and UPS, she likes them too, but they don't have the treats.

Then, when another neighbor came over to see her, which she's never been over here before and Betty's never seen her before, she was all excited, a new friend, lol. And that lady played with her as well. When I talked with her, I found that she also had a couple dogs, so she knew not to back away in fear when Betty was jumping in excitement. She also asked Betty to sit, and Betty sat, and she played with her some more.

Now, when Betty is in the car and a stranger comes up to the car, no problem. But if I'm in the car with her, she wants them to come nowhere near the car.

I've seen that book, and was thinking of getting it. I'm just not much of a reader, and would rather get DVD's to watch. But that's a short book, so I may get it. If it had a couple hundred pages, I'd usually only get through about 50 pages and put it down and not finish, lol. Besides, there's a few mre things I want to get from dogwise.com, and since they are close to me, I can go there anytime.


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## SK63 (Jan 15, 2008)

Interesting. I would be very interested to know how Betty reacts in the neighborhood when someone else is taking her for a walk on leash. How about your bedroom ? Any reaction if you and Betty were in the bedroom alone and someone enters ?


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## Lonewolfblue (Oct 28, 2007)

Not sure how she would react there, but I know when a friend comes in without knocking, she just runs up to the door to greet him. He's also taken her out on walks as well, and has taken her out to go potty when I was busy, and took her for a walk around the block working on her heeling. He used to train dogs many years ago til he had problems with his ex-wife. But it seems the only time she reacts to anyone is in the car with me in it.

Now, when she is on leash and another person walks up to her, she does tend to want to charge at them as well, unless she knows them. This has been starting the last couple weeks, and she's never done it before. Also, the car issue is the same, probably the last month or so. Would like find out how I can get her to stop going at everyone that walks near the car when I'm in it, mainly when I'm in the parking lot at Safeway. Anyone that walks by my car to go to their car, she fiercly barks at them. But when I'm not in the car and can see her in the car from a distance, she just sits there and watches everyone, calmly.


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## Love's_Sophie (Sep 23, 2007)

This is not fear aggression you are dealing with then, atleast not now; she is protecting you...my suspicion is that this is why she is such a brat on lead too...she wants you to have nothing to do with anyone else, canine or human.


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## Lonewolfblue (Oct 28, 2007)

But for the other dogs then, if not fear, then why does she try hard to go around me so she's on the other side, where I'm between her and the other dogs while on leash? I'm pretty sure there is a fear component in there as well. And as for being off leash today, she probably had no fear at all because she has an escape if she needed, a huge escape. So she probably felt perfectly safe and happy.


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## SK63 (Jan 15, 2008)

Lonewolfblue said:


> But for the other dogs then, if not fear, then why does she try hard to go around me so she's on the other side, where I'm between her and the other dogs while on leash? I'm pretty sure there is a fear component in there as well. And as for being off leash today, she probably had no fear at all because she has an escape if she needed, a huge escape. So she probably felt perfectly safe and happy.


I'm sticking with my theory that a previous owner was heavy handed with her when she showed signs of being protective. Possibly Children were around or the owner just did not like it but whatever the case, she knows what happens when she goes in to protection mode and is fearful of such.


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## Lonewolfblue (Oct 28, 2007)

Just one more thing to add, she is great with kids. I just don't trust her around kids when there's the possibility of another dog being around. She becomes quite unpredictable, but then again, that's on-leash. It's like the time where she wouldn't let the neighbor get his own kids and I had to get Betty so he could get his kids, she wouldn't let him near them, lol.


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## Lonewolfblue (Oct 28, 2007)

Well, today went pretty well. We went to where the min pin was yesterday, and didn't see the dog at all. But I got to let Betty run. We actually went 2 times, once in the morning, and once after her school. So right now she's sleeping, lol. As for her school, she did very well. We worked more on her heeling, and also jumping over the hurdles. Because it's a hard floor due to the back yard being knee-deep in snow, we are just having her jump the lowest setting, which I think is only 12 inches. Then once she get's good at jumping, and not going around, we will add a 2nd jump and begin training her to jump the one that I point at. So if I want her to jump over the left one, I'll point at the left one and she should jump over the left one.


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## Lonewolfblue (Oct 28, 2007)

Well, I'm starting to think that Betty's fear aggression is mostly related to the leash, or leash aggression. She's seemed to get along with other dogs off-leash with a barrier between them. I still don't fully trust her yet off-leash without some type of protective barrier, but it's looking better and better all the time. But for on leash, she had another fight with another pup this morning. The other pup was not on a leash and came running at Betty, wanting to play. But Betty turned on it and I had to break up another fight. Luckily the other dog had longer hair and was easier to get Betty off it, it's harder with shorter hair dogs because she can really latch onto them. So no harm was done to either dog. I also don't want to let Betty off leash on walks because of her wanting to chase after trucks, because I think she's linked trucks with having dogs in them. She won't chase cars, lol. Just pickup trucks and the waste management garbage truck. lol.


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## SK63 (Jan 15, 2008)

Lonewolfblue said:


> Well, I'm starting to think that Betty's fear aggression is mostly related to the leash, or leash aggression. She's seemed to get along with other dogs off-leash with a barrier between them. I still don't fully trust her yet off-leash without some type of protective barrier, but it's looking better and better all the time. But for on leash, she had another fight with another pup this morning. The other pup was not on a leash and came running at Betty, wanting to play. But Betty turned on it and I had to break up another fight. Luckily the other dog had longer hair and was easier to get Betty off it, it's harder with shorter hair dogs because she can really latch onto them. So no harm was done to either dog. I also don't want to let Betty off leash on walks because of her wanting to chase after trucks, because I think she's linked trucks with having dogs in them. She won't chase cars, lol. Just pickup trucks and the waste management garbage truck. lol.


You still need to narrow it down if it's the LEASH or YOU. If at all possible have someone else take her on a walk on leash around dogs and see how she reacts. I'm still betting the aggression is protective in nature and that's what you need to focus on. When she is on leash, she is in close proximity to you just like while in the car and feels the need to protect.


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## Lonewolfblue (Oct 28, 2007)

We had class again today. We worked on her Come for a while, then started more Rally stuff. Betty's Come has been pretty bad, so we've started using a shock collar, to see if we can get her to pay closer attention to us. For the first day, it went very well. The collar has settings from 1-10, and we had it only on 2.5, and she reacted well to it. Also, the trainers grand-daughter was there, and was a pretty good distraction for the class. Then the trainer asked if Betty acted the same with all other kids that she's come across, and I said yes. They got along great. And Betty had a lot of fun. The trainer has also let me borrow the collar, so I can work with Betty through the week. I may not need to use it much, as the class has made a pretty good impact, and she's listening a lot more. 

As for the walks, Betty's been doing pretty well. When going by the poodles, she just goes around to my right side, and almost pays no attention to them at all now. But all 4 poodles haven't been coming out. Usually it's only 1 or 2. Will see when it warms up and we see all 4 coming out to the fence. Also, we've been going down to the ball park where it's fenced in, and we haven't seen that min pin at all. I was hoping that we would see him again. Other than that, all is going well.

I got some new pics of Betty today. Check them out......


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## Lonewolfblue (Oct 28, 2007)

Well, I took Betty down to the park 2 times so far today, and she had a blast. The 2nd time we took a ball so if there were no other dogs, we would play fetch. We got there, and nobody was there, so I took out the ball. We played for quite a while, til she was about ready to drop dead, lol. Then we went back to the car, and there were several ducks nessled in the snow near the parking lot. So I decided to get closer to see what Betty would do. She saw them, and went to try and herd them up and they just flew away, lol.

Then, on the way home it was nice. Usually she would bark at anyone walking on the sidewalk, or trucks passing us. Well, she was so tired, she would see the people and trucks, with her toungue hanging out panting, would say, ok, you go that way, and you go that way, lol. Would just look at them and say, I'll be back, lol. It's nice having a tired out dog, lol. So quiet, lol. I might take her again tonight, so maybe she'll have a good nights sleep, lol. Then will do the same tomorrow before her school, lol.


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## Lonewolfblue (Oct 28, 2007)

Well, went to the park a third time tonight, and wore her out again. Hopefully I'll have a quiet evening, lol. She's laying on the cool linoleum floor now, lol.


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## Mr Pooch (Jan 28, 2008)

No questions regarding her training as she seems to be doing just fine but just to say Betty is a beauty of a pooch.


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## Lonewolfblue (Oct 28, 2007)

Well, today was an interesting day, lol. We were going to go to the park, and ended up at Dogwise.com instead, lol. I went in and got 3 new things. First, I got a booklet called Heeler Power. Going to read through that one, looks small but good. Then I got the book When Pigs Fly!. And the 3rd item I got was the book Control Unleashed. I think I'm spending too much money on Betty, lol. Then, after that, we went to the park, lol. We played ball for a bit, but Betty seemed tired. I think I probably wore her out too much yesterday, and she's not used to all the activity since we aren't as active in the winter, lol. But the temps are starting to warm up a bit, and quite a bit of the snow has melted.

Then we came home for a while and waited til it was time to go to Betty's school. We worked more on her recall, and used the E-collar. We started using it, and after the first correction, she headed for the gate and wanted out of the back yard. So we stopped using it, and worked on a different recall approach with a retractable leash, 26ft. We just worked on this for a little while, then went back into the garage and did some other stuff. The trainer has also loaned me a few things to read, and a video to watch. The reading material is just on different Scent Games, as well as other games to play. She's also let me borrow TTouch Deluxe for Dogs and Puppies. Definitely going to go through it. So, I've got quite a bit on the plate right now, LOL.


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## Lonewolfblue (Oct 28, 2007)

Well, I'm really not sure on what just happened, but I can explain here. Yesterday I got home from work and got Betty and went to the park. I let her run off leash, and all went well. She had a blast. Then, I got a call from a friend who invited us over. We got to his place, and there were kids in the parking lot with scate boards, and Betty snapped. I put her on the leash to go into their apartment, and decided to leave her in the car long enough to let them know I was there so they would have the door open. My friend came out, and as soon as I opened the car door and got Betty's leash, she lunged at my friend and got his arm. The only thing that saved him is my training for a soft mouth, as I have not been able to get her to completely stop nipping. He said the only thing that hurt was the sharpness of the teeth, but as for her jaw pressure, he said she hardly even put any pressure. At this time, she was still trying to lunge at him, as well as the kids on the scateboards. So instead of going to his place, as she was already past the red zone, I took her home and put her in her kennel, then went back to their house, as they had invited me for dinner. I hated leaving her alone again, as I had been gone all day at work, but she was completely out of control. Also, when trying to get her back into the car, she even nipped me 2 times as well. But it didn't hurt. This was just completely out of the blue, she's never snapped that fast before. Any thoughts?


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## SK63 (Jan 15, 2008)

I guess I'll go ahead and post a reply again but honestly it seems to be landing on deaf ears. You really need to drop all other training, find a knowledgeable animal behaviorist and concentrate on Betty's protection/aggression issues. This will continue to escalate, next thing you'll know, you will have to give Betty up and/or put her down. I don't mean to make you mad, but I'm questioning your common sense AND ability to be a good dog owner. You seem to be ignoring the obvious and putting Betty in to a lose-lose situation in her life. As far as her nipping at you, she was either so far in to "the zone", that it didn't matter or she is experiencing some physical pain somewhere.

Please stop trying to get advice on here and concentrate on Betty's behavior with a COMPETENT behaviorist/ trainer. It needs to be your only focus right now before it's too late ! I don't want to read some sad watery eye post about how you had to put Betty down. My eyes will tear up because Betty had an owner who was unable to act responsibly and failed to take preventive action to save her life.. At this point, YOU are the one to be blamed as you have not fully focused on the issues and used full resources to get Betty's issues resolved. You are Betty's Guardian and leader, please start acting like it.


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## Lonewolfblue (Oct 28, 2007)

Oh, it's not falling on deaf ears. As I have stated before, I've looked for some behaviorists, and the closest one is 3 hours away, and with my work schedule, it's impossible. Their last session is at 6pm, and that is when I get off work. I'm also planning on scheduling a session with Kathy Sdao on my vacation, but that's down the road aways. As for the incident, we've been there a few times already, and she knows the people. It was just the kids on skateboards that really got her rattled, and it escalated from there. So I ended up just taking her home and then going back alone.

As for all her other things, she's doing very well. She seems to do fine with other dogs when off leash, even when I'm there next to her petting her and a fence between, but as soon as I clip that leash on, it's like an on/off switch. Completely different dog. And as for giving her up or putting her down, will never happen.


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## Lonewolfblue (Oct 28, 2007)

Well, I took Betty to the park today and worked on some of her commands. She's doing pretty well. We decided to work on her Stay, Wait, and Come commands. I wanted to see how far I could get from her, without her coming to me. It was about 25-30 yards. So we started there. We did this for an hour, and I got farther and farther, praising her lots and good treats. When I was further away, I started using the hand signal for Come instead of having to yell it. I got to about 75 long paces from her, and she was doing it almost every time. A couple times I did have to repeat the hand signal and yell Come, but for the most part, that's the line where we can start working on hand signal only. This is just over 50 yards away. When I mean long paces, I don't mean regular walking paces, but long strides. So I'm guessing anywhere between 50-60 yards, possibly a little farther. So that's a great sign.

After we were done, we started our slow walk back towards the car, as she was beat. Then we could see the people walking down by the river on the trail with their dogs, and Betty saw them, and started running towards them. Then I said, Betty, Come, she instantly turned around and came back to me. Another good sign. I think the Come training I've been working on for the last 2 weeks or so is starting to pay off. Before, when she started running like that, I would have to scream at her to come, and she would stop but not come back until I started walking towards her, then she would walk back like she did something wrong. And other times, she would go about 50 yards before turning back, with me calling and screaming, lol. So that's going pretty well.

Then, when we were getting closer to the car, I decided we would stay a little longer and just play around. Guess who showed up? The min pin that we haven't seen for a couple weeks came out in their yard, and Betty heard him, and raced to him. They sniffed, then began to play. Then the min pin would bark, and then race up the fenceline, and Betty would race along with him, then they would sniff again. Then he would play bow, and take off, and Betty would race along with him. They had a blast. I let this go for another 30 minutes or so, then when I needed to get back to the car, I called Betty, Betty, Come. And she instantly came, and we went to the car. I didn't have to leash her to get her away like I did the last time. So, I think it's beginning to pay off. She would have never done this before.

Well, tomorrow is school again. Will see what we are going to work on. She loves going there for class. Will let you know how things go, and what we work on.....


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## terryjeanne (Jul 13, 2007)

Congrats to you and Betty ! Practice is paying off. Do you give her treats when she come back on command?


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## Lonewolfblue (Oct 28, 2007)

terryjeanne said:


> Congrats to you and Betty ! Practice is paying off. Do you give her treats when she come back on command?


Yes, I do for now. Today we worked with small hot dog bits, and lots of praise.


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## Lonewolfblue (Oct 28, 2007)

Update, now that most of the snow is gone, we are seeing the min pin out more and more. We saw him the other day, and tonight, when I got home from work, I took Betty to the park again, and there he was. I think Betty tuckered him out today, as they ran up and down the 40 or so yards of fenceline. They had a blast. And Betty even perked up like she does whenever she sees him, lol. Then we walked across the park and back, and the min pin had already gone in the house. She really enjoys seeing him, and he really seems to get all happy when she shows up. It's totally a blast to watch.


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## Lonewolfblue (Oct 28, 2007)

I took Betty to her school today, and we worked on her Rally stuff. The trainer also got a new dog, and had him out in the outside kennel where we trained. Betty was a bit excited at first, but when we started working on the rally, she began ignoring the other dog. Her other dog is a Golden Retriever that was given to her, and holds several championship titles. The people couldn't keep the dog anymore, and my trainer was the lucky one to get called and was asked if she wanted him. She could not turn the offer down. So now she has 3 dogs.

After we got done with the rally stuff, Betty was pooped, so we thought we would let her drag the leash and see how she reacts. She went right up to the kennel, and they sniffed, and she kept going around to different parts of the kennel, and they sniffed more. The trainer said by looking at her tail, she was a little stressed, but wasn't too bad. So for classes on Monday, we will give them a little interaction time. And Betty did not growl or bark at all, but was a little stiff. I think with time, she'll get over it. Then, when I was getting ready to go, I said, Betty, Come, and she came right to me. Then we went home. So todays day ended on a good note.


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## Lonewolfblue (Oct 28, 2007)

Well, school is tomorrow, hopefully we get to work with other dogs rather than Rally, lol. As for today, we went to the park a couple times. In the morning, we went and played ball. Betty's becoming less and less interested in the ball, she'll chase it, but then won't pick it up and bring it back like she used to, and would then go around sniffing for goose poo, lol. Not fun, lol. When we first got there, there were hundreds of geese in the park. It was an incredible site. Then Betty saw them and took off. Recall didn't work, but when watching her, she ran straight towards them, then started to flank left like she was going to herd them all together. But as she got closer, they all flew off and down to the river. So all in all, herding is funner than Coming, lol. After they flew off, then she came back.

Then this afternoon we went back, as the weather was incredible, blue skies and a very nice day. And low and behold, tons of dogs. I came prepared with hot dogs, lol. I had a small baggie with chopped up hot dogs. And we got to where I thought was a good place to start and sat down. I worked a little more with Sit and Down til the dogs started going by, then would feed her as they walked by. We were at about 35 yards or so from the trail. The larger dogs would go by and Betty would be just fine, but as soon as small dogs went by, like a couple of poodles, Betty was lunging again. So I tried from a little further back, about 40 yards. Was a little better. But anyways, got some good practice with no collar corrections, just praising for good behavior and treats. I even had a clicker with me, which I tried as well. Had conditioned her for the clicker over a few days, clicking and feeding. So I think she was ready to start with this. All in all, we had a pretty good day...

Here's a few pics of the small part of the park that we were at. This is just a fraction of what the whole park really is.....


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## Lonewolfblue (Oct 28, 2007)

And a few more pics.....


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## Lonewolfblue (Oct 28, 2007)

Well, we had an incident today. Here it is....

As for Betty's outdoor activities, we've been going to the park often. Tonight we went back after I got off work, and we walked to the end of the soccer field and came back. As we were headed for the car, which I didn't realize another car pulled up with 2 German Shepherds, they were on leashes. These guys I usually see them off leash at the park going after the ducks and geese, but were on leash probably because they saw me and Betty. Well, at about 50 yards away, Betty saw them and took off. I could not call her back, as she was off leash from playing ball. I thought there was going to be some problems, as I've never had her with dogs on the same side of a fence. Well, she went up to one of the GSD's and sniffed, then the other one came around and Betty started circling them, like herding. But no growling or anything, toungue hanging out and what looked like a smile. When I got up to them, she came around the and up to me when I called her. And as I put the leash on, when she heard the clip of the leash, she went from what looked like a happy dog to lunging and showing teeth. So I immediately took her to the car. The 2 people didn't mind, as they said they understand things like that happen. They were cool about it, and the 2 GSD's were full grown and looked like they could rip Betty apart if she didn't behave, lol.


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## Lonewolfblue (Oct 28, 2007)

Another update.....

The last 2 weekends, I've been taking Betty to the park during the day and playing the Look At That game, where we would sit a distance off the trail, and whenever a dog passed by us and Betty looked at it, then back at me, she would get praises and treats (Hot Dogs). It's been a really fun game, and she's beginning to be a little more calm. But when it comes to small dogs, even at a great distance, she still wants at them, no matter what. I've been keeping her leash short, and would praise her for sitting next to me, and if she looks at a dog and then looks at me like she's saying, Did you see me look at that dog?, she would get praised and treats. This is going to become a daily routine, now that the time has changed, and it is now still going to be daylight after I get off work. We'll be doing this for the whole summer, as well as our walks and playing ball in the park when they aren't playing soccer or softball.

Well, the friend that has the chiwawa we used to work with until they moved to Seattle, well, he came over today for a visit. We took the dogs to the park for a walk. Betty was lunging for about 5-10 minutes, then started calming down a bit. Within 20 minutes, they were walking within 3 feet of each other with minimal problems. Occasionally I would see Betty freeze, which is my trigger to increase the distance, as the freeze usually means lunging is next, lol. But overall, we had a really good day. Then after they left, we went back to the other part of the park again and played some more Look At That. Had a good day...

Well, Betty will be going for some new training on the 17th with people that deal with dogs that have issues. I've kept them updated on Betty's progress here, and it sounds like it will only be a 1 day session. I think what they are planning is to let Betty go in with their other dogs that they use for training, and when she becomes comfortable with them, we will be working on leash work with her around other dogs and with other dogs. We will also be doing some long-line work as well. And from what I gather, it could take an hour, or up to 6-7 hours. But in the end, they said I'll be walking with Betty and 4-5 other dogs leashes in my hands. So, hopefully it turns out to benefit Betty and me, mainly me. She told me that I'll leave with all the tools I need to be successful. And as for adding another dog, they told me that it not only would benefit Betty, but if I needed them to help in the introduction process, if the other people do decide to rehome the BC that I'm interested in, that they could come and help me. But they said I would have all the tools to do it on my own, but their doors are wide open if I needed the help. So, these are just things I'm looking forward to down the road.

Well, here's a pic of Betty after today, lol. Now this is a pooped out dog, lol...


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## Lonewolfblue (Oct 28, 2007)

Well, we won't be getting the Border Collie. She's made the decision to keep her. It was tough on her 7 year old son that they were thinking of rehoming her, as she was the favorite dog. Also, her trainer also told her that the problems with her stocking the goats and killing chickens is just due to her being young and having no training at all, and that it can be trained out of her easily. So she's looking at beginning the training process, and doing herding trials, as there's a place near them that she's already taken her to for an instinct test, and she passed with flying colors. It was a really big decision for her, and I told her to take all the time she needs to think about it and to not feel rushed. So she decided to keep her.


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## Lonewolfblue (Oct 28, 2007)

We just got back from Seattle tonight, it was actually south of Seattle and about 3.5 hours from my house. Took Betty to a session with a trainer over there who deals with dogs that have issues. Well, it went very well. 

We started with taking Betty for a long walk. It was about a half mile down to the end of the road, and we ran part of it. Then we did the same coming back. When we got back, Betty was barely even winded, lol. So, because I didn't have a bike to bring, the trainer took out her secret weapon for tiring a dog out. It was a horse whip, lol. But not no regular horse whip, lol. This one had a plastic garbage bag tied to the end of it, lol. Betty went bonkers over it, lol. It was loud, fast, and Betty wanted it BAD, lol. It took about an hour and 45 minutes to tire her out, lol. And her tank still wasn't empty, but it was low enough to begin training, lol. Now I need to get a similar device for home, lol.

We first took one of the trainers female boxers out. Betty wanted at her. I had the boxer while the trainer had Betty. We were using a short leash with a martingale collar. And whenever Betty would lunge, she would lift up on Betty's head til she calmed down, and we walked more. We got to where they were walking side by side with no issues in about 15-20 minutes. Then it was lunch time, so we came back after lunch again.

After lunch, we worked again with the same boxer, this time I was handling Betty. It went pretty well, didn't have to correct her much. Then we went to the next step, to let the boxer sniff Betty. I had to correct her a couple times, but she calmed right back down, and was ok with the boxer sniffing her back side. Then we went to letting Betty sniff the boxers back side. All went perfect, Betty sniffed, then just layed down with her head turned to the side and tongue hanging out. Once we got to where we were comfortable with them sniffing the back ends, then we went to the mid-body and heads/noses. All went pretty well. Betty snipped once, but after a quick no by the trainer, she was fine. We let them do this sniffing for a while, and pretty soon Betty was good with the boxer.

Then we went to the next level, bringing out her other female boxer, lol. Now this was a challenge. Now to let you know, she uses both boxers whenever she works with dogs with issues, as these boxers could care less. They show no stress, and are completely relaxed. So it all started over again, lol. We went through all the same steps as above, but this time it went faster. We did the sniffing with both boxers as well, and got to the point where Betty was once again comfortable. 

The next step was to put Betty on a 6ft leash instead of a 4ft, and since Betty's got a really good sit/down stay, the trainer had me put Betty into a sit, then extend the leash out the 6ft, and the trainer then walked the boxers over the leash. Betty was just fine with it, then when I said Come, she came to me for her reward, hot dogs. We did this several times.

The next step we did was heavy treats. We started feeding all 3 dogs sitting close by each other. Betty did fine. Then, when I was feeding Betty a handful of hot dog bits, one of the boxers decided to join. I almost froze, thinking Betty was going to do something. Well, she didn't, lol. I had Betty and both boxers eating out of my hand, lol. There were a couple times where we saw Betty do a lip curl, and we immediately corrected that with a stern NO. But after a couple minutes, they were all just fine, and Betty seemed much happier and would walk around the boxers and eat out of my hand with the boxers.

After we accomplished all this, then we went to the last stage, the long line. The trainer tied up the 2 boxers to a post and we had Betty on a long line. When we let the line out, we were expecting Betty to charge at the boxers. But Betty did the opposite, just wandered around, then walked up by the boxers and the trainer had me recall Betty. As soon as I said Betty, Come, she immediately turned and ran to me and sat in front of me. I never though that would have happened on the first try, lol. We thought we were going to have to give a little tug on the line to get her attention. But she was completely comfortable. Then we brought out the distraction. The 3rd dog. They had him out in the back yard behind the wire fence. It was a male German Shepherd that loved to bark loudly. Again, we thought we were going to have to correct Betty for running at him, but she slowly walked up near him, and as soon as I said Betty, Come, she came right to me. Even with the GSD making lots of noise, lol.

Overall we had a great time. Betty just needs to get over being so hyperactive and stressed. And I definitely know that this didn't fix her, but it's another piece of the puzzle, another step up the ladder. The trainer has also given me some good tools to work with as well. The only bad thing is that there's not tons of dogs here like there is over there. So being able to work with her is going to be a challenge. But it's not impossible. Let me know what you think. I think it's been a very productive day for the both of us. Still have a ways to go, but we are headed in the right direction. We have the tools she's taught me, as well as all the books I've been reading and DVD's I've been watching.


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## Aussiefan (Jan 21, 2007)

Indeed it sounds like a big step in the right direction! Quite the day, i bet both you and Betty are two tired puppies, lol!


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## Lonewolfblue (Oct 28, 2007)

Well, I thought Betty would sleep the whole way back, lol. She slept maybe 30 minutes, but then was back up to watching where we were going, lol. Once we got back, what did Betty want to do? Not sleep, lol. She wanted to play tug, then ball, lol. She's finally on the bed sleeping, lol. Her energy never ends, lol.


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## Lonewolfblue (Oct 28, 2007)

Well, Betty is doing pretty well. We've been working on her Look At That game more. We are in an area where she used to lunge at dogs all the time, but now no longer lunges from this point. We sit along a path at the park about 50ft from the trail. And I keep Betty on a 30ft long-line. I let her just walk around and when other dogs would come up, I would call her, Betty, Come, and she would come to me for her treat, then would sit and watch the dog go by on the trail. At the same time, I would reward her everytime she looked back at me. So all is going well.

Another new development has also come about, more training possibly. A friend has put me in contact with someone who does herding training with both sheep and cattle. We will be taking Betty for an instinct test here in the near future to see if she's got what it takes to begin herding training, or if she'll turn out to be a problem dog. If she passes with flying colors, then we may look at taking her a couple weekends a month and begin training with sheep, then possible cattle later on. Also at the instinct test, the gal that does it also works with more reactive dogs as well. We won't actually have Betty off leash with the sheep, but she will have her in a position to see how strong her commands are, as well as her recall when in with the sheep. Sounds like everything is initially done on a long line to keep her from doing something she's not supposed to, as in an attack. She said it will take about 30-45 minutes to tell where she stands overall. So, I'm looking forward to it. New experience for me as well.


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## natureloverchris (Nov 11, 2007)

it's been a while since I checked in on this thread. You sure have come a long way with her. That's fantastic. It's really impressive how hard you are working with her. 

As an aside, I don't know why, but I would have thought you still have snow. It has been one crazy winter and spring!


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## Lonewolfblue (Oct 28, 2007)

Nope, no snow here. It's been gone now for a few weeks. In fact, it was getting up near 60 degrees, but now the temps are falling again. Tonight is supposed to be below freezing again, down to about 27. I wish it would start warming up a little more, need to get the outside water turned on. Waiting til the night time temps start staying above freezing.


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## natureloverchris (Nov 11, 2007)

It spit snow here this morning. I'm envious, I would love for it to get to 60 here. I really need to get on your side of the mountains sometime. It's been a while.


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## Lonewolfblue (Oct 28, 2007)

Well, guess what? We are going to get Betty's herding instinct test done with sheep on Sunday, 3/30/08. This is going to be done at DeltaBluez Stockdogs. We are looking forward to this. Here's what they had to say:



> If you would like to have Betty tested for instinct on sheep, and start her in herding if she has adequate instinct, I can help you. Instinct testing is basically a controlled introduction to sheep by myself or Diane, with us giving the dog clues as to how to gather the sheep and assessing the dog's willingness to both work with the stock and with the handler. Some dogs are natural herders from day 1, others take a few lessons to warm up. Either way, instinct is usually fairly easy to see even in dogs who are reluctant at first.
> 
> New dogs are started in a 60' round pen with well dog broke sheep. Once some basics have been learned, we vary the type of sheep the dogs are asked to work, and when the dogs are ready gradually progress into larger field sizes until they can work in the 20-acre open field. How long this process takes depends on the talent of the dog, the talent and learning ability of the handler, the relationship between dog and handler, and how much time is devoted to training. Herding is definitely a sport that requires a lot of "miles" for both dog and handler! Even the most advanced trial dogs require regular practice to remain in top form.


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## Lonewolfblue (Oct 28, 2007)

Well, for Betty's class yesterday we ran her through some more Rally stuff. Only problem is that I didn't have treats with me, so she seemed uninterested. Also, she kept going at my feet like she was herding me. I could not get her to stop, every time I tried moving, she would go right at my feet. Not sure what got into her. Then my trainer wanted me to switch back to the prong collar, which I never use anymore, to get more control, so I did, and it got worse, so I immediately removed it and went back to her flat collar, which the trainer disagreed with. Not much anything has changed, and we had gone for a nice long walk beforehand like we normally do, and stopped and played Look At That as dogs would walk by us in the distance down on the trail. All was normal on our usual walk.

Also, at home, she seems like she's out of energy, not as active as she normally is. I'm going to watch her the next few days, and if nothing changes, it's going to be a trip to the vet to see if anything is actually wrong. Nothing has changed in her diet either, but she seems like she's put on a couple pounds as well. So it might be a good idea to get her checked anyways. Any thoughts? Have a Thyroid check? Anything else needs to be checked?


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## Lonewolfblue (Oct 28, 2007)

Well, wish me luck. Tomorrow is the big day, Betty's getting her instinct test done. Will let you know how it all goes.


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## terryjeanne (Jul 13, 2007)

Eagerly awaiting results of her herding test....you're doing a great job with Betty


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## Lonewolfblue (Oct 28, 2007)

We just got back from Seattle, and had a blast. When I first got there, we had to wait as they had customers that purchased some sheep, and had to load them up. It was fun to watch. Then when it came time to let Betty out, she got loose from me, and I thought, oh, no, there were several other dogs out. She first met this big older white dog, I think some kind of sheep dog maybe, not sure. Betty introduced herself, and they sniffed, and all was ok. Then she went after all the border collies, lol. She sniffed the first, said your ok, went to the next, your ok, went to the next, your ok, lol. Then they started racing around with each other. Then Betty took off after some ducks. I though, oh, no, she's going to get one or 2. But instead, she flanked around them and got them closer to each other. It was then that I was finally able to catch her and put the leash on her.

Once Monique had the sheep in the proper area for the instinct test, she had me come in with Betty, walking in over ankle deep mud in areas, lol. Was great, lol. We got to where the training sheep were and Monique took the leash. At first Betty wanted to go head on with them. Monique did a very good job describing to me exactly what Betty was doing, as she doesn't know yet exactly what to do. But after working with her for 10 minutes on leash, she was able to get Betty to the point where she could let the leash go. A couple times Betty had a good chase going on, but overall, she did very well. And with what I learned in the first day, her instinct level is very good, and she's out of shape, lol. So I'm now going to do some research on a good diet to put her on, as she's been only doing free-feeding. So I need to do some homework there and put her on a healthy diet. And as for the exercise, I think now that it's spring and going into summer, we are going to get plenty of exercise, and I'm also going to take her down for a lot more swimming once it starts warming up as well. The water is still a bit chilly with all the snow runoff. Will wait a couple more weeks and see how it is then. I do see other dogs in the water, but they aren't actually letting them swim after balls yet. Just wading and drinking.

Overall, I had a very good time. I wish I would have got more pics, but I only got 2, which I'll post once I get them downloaded from the camera. It was pics from after the session, with Monique holding the leash with Betty near the sheep. Here in a couple weeks I'm probably going to actually start up her training as well, since it's a long drive I'll probably start with every other weekend and see how it goes, then maybe go into every weekend. Just depends on my bills, etc. I think she'll have a blast doing it, she did very well, and I was very pleased.


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## Lonewolfblue (Oct 28, 2007)

Here's a couple pics of Monique and Betty after the session......


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## terryjeanne (Jul 13, 2007)

Good heavens, all I see is a big blob the colour of the mud!  The ears and nose do look familiar, though.

Glad she had a good time. How long did it take to bath Betty??


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## Lonewolfblue (Oct 28, 2007)

Hehehe,,,,,,,

Pretty good twist to Betty's saga, hey?
From Dog Socialization to Rally-O to Herding... lol

I really think herding has been the best thing that's happened to her, she really got into it. And as for the other dogs, it's the first time she's actually been with lots of other dogs, lol.

As for the bath, well, I think I got most of it off her, lol. Took well over an hour, lol. But then, as usually, she absolutely loved the rubdown with the towels afterwards. That's one thing I like about her, she loves baths. She's in the tub before the water is turned on. 

We did more of Betty's rally stuff today. She did pretty well. She's just got a few more things to learn. We went through a lot of the Rally-O Novice stuff the last few months, today was the first day we actually did a Rally-O Advanced course. It included one jump, and 2 more new items we haven't done yet. It's pretty cool. She did well. She's just going to have a hard time with the Stand and Walk Around one, as she's always wanting to Sit when we stop. On this item, we come to a hault, then she sits. Then she's given the stand command and stay. She's supposed to stand still while I walk around her, but she sits, lol. Either that or she tries to follow, lol. New things are always fun, right? lol

Then after school today, the trainer gave me a travel kennel for Betty, as the training kennel I have for her is too big for the car. So now I have a crate to put her in in the car so she's much safer. Another bonus for today, lol.


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## ChrissyBz (Aug 10, 2007)

That's great to hear. One more positive exp under her belt.


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## Lonewolfblue (Oct 28, 2007)

Well, I've upped her exercise and am no longer free-feeding. I'm going to put her on a strict, but healthy diet. She's gained a few pounds over the winter due to less exercise, and need to get her back into shape.


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## Lonewolfblue (Oct 28, 2007)

Here's some more pics......


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## Lonewolfblue (Oct 28, 2007)




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## Lonewolfblue (Oct 28, 2007)

Well, Betty did great in class today. Did another Rally course, then started working more on her Stays. We are working on a more reliable stay, even though they are pretty good now. We are also working on more reliable, and faster downs as well. She's doing very well.

With the Rally courses, where she really excels is in the left turns. She's got a great left turn heel back, as well as 90 degree left pivots. It's really come along, and today she really impressed us. Now where she needs more work is in her heeling. Sometimes she tends to try and get ahead of me, then kicks her butt out. We'll get it sooner or later, lol. But all is going very well.

I've now downloaded the paperwork online from AKC to fill out to get her an ILP. Will be getting it filled out and then send it in with the pictures and money, and will see if they will accept her. We were looking at mixed breed competition, but if we can get in on some of the AKC events as well, it will open more doors for her. So I'm crossing my fingers, lol.


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## Lonewolfblue (Oct 28, 2007)

Well, I have an almost new kennel being delivered tonight. Betty's going to like it. And she'll have room to run while I'm at work. It's a 6'x12'x6'. Just need to make some kind of top for it so she can't get out, as she's been known to jump that high with no problems, lol. I'm also getting horse stall matting to put down under it so she can't dig out. A friend uses it and said it's much better on the dogs joints than putting the kennel on concrete. It's a kennel that uses the panels, and not the long stretch of chain-link fencing. Can't wait, should be here by 7:30.


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## ChrissyBz (Aug 10, 2007)

New toys Gotta love 'em. You sure do a lot of work with her. I applaud the commitment.


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## Lonewolfblue (Oct 28, 2007)

Here's some more pics of Betty......


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## Lonewolfblue (Oct 28, 2007)




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## Lonewolfblue (Oct 28, 2007)




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## Lonewolfblue (Oct 28, 2007)

Here's Betty's new kennel......


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## pamperedpups (Dec 7, 2006)

Neat, but why post three very similar pictures of the dog and the sheep, you and the dog, the dog, and kennel? You may be missing out on some readers who have dial up.


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## Lonewolfblue (Oct 28, 2007)

True, but unlike some people that post pics and are 200k or bigger, I run mine through Photoshop and try to get smaller file sizes, so dial-up shouldn't be too much a problem. I don't always post several similar pics, but on occasion I do. I'll see about pulling some out.

I re-edited and pulled some of the pics out.....


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## Lonewolfblue (Oct 28, 2007)

Well, I've been emailing a few breeders/ACD rescues as to see if they feel Betty would be registerable under the AKC ILP program, and here's pretty much what they are all saying......



> i would say she is full ACD. her coloring is mottled and it doesn't look like she has any tan or if so it's very little. but she will register as an ACD through the AKC ILP registry. but her mottleing is an acceptable coloring, you just don't see it a lot, if she were AKC registered she would be registered as a blue mottle. but yes, i would say she is full ACD.


Looks like I have an ACD that you don't see very often, lol. Makes her quite unique. She's my baby, and always will be.


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## Lonewolfblue (Oct 28, 2007)

Well, it's Monday again, guess what that means? You probably guessed correctly, she had school today. But instead of doing her normal Rally training, we changed it up a bit and worked on Obedience. We worked on her heeling, did some drills with heeling in a straight line, then heeling in a straight line with a hault in the middle. Then finally, we drilled her on watching me while heeling, where we would heel in a straight line and whenever she took her eyes off me, we would stop and I would put her at a sit. It went very well, but she's got to practice, practice, practice. But she'll get it, will take some time. So this is my homework for the week, having 2 to 3 short sessions a day for the whole week, doing a little of each of these 3 things that we worked on. We will do some more Rally on occasion, but her classes are going to be working more on her Basic Obedience, which should correct her sloppyness in Rally-O.


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## Lonewolfblue (Oct 28, 2007)

Well, it's Monday and Betty's going to class again. Will probably be doing some more Obedience work with her. As for this week, it's been a rough one with her. Her protectiveness is just getting away from me. She won't let anyone near me at all except a select few people. Yesterday we met a friend on the trail, and when I started talking to him and he started walking towards us, she went into attack mode. Luckily she wasn't within range and hit the end of the line. Then after our walk, my boss at work wanted to meet her, so I brought her to the store. We went to her office, and she greeted Betty in a happy tone, and I thought Betty was going to be fine. She went up and did her usual jumping, but them snapped. She didn't bite, and I got her away before she did. I have no idea what she's thinking. I thought everything was getting better, and now she does this. Not sure how much more I can take, lol.

Edit:
And while she was barking at the owner, another office gal walked in that Betty knew, and Betty walked up to her with kindness (Betty has met all the other office gals before, and likes them all), then charged again at the owner.

Well, todays class went well. We first had some fun with a little agility stuff. We started with direction with 2 jumps, Betty did really well with it. We had to have barriers up because she would run around the jumps. But we got to the point where she was doing the jumps on command, and the correct direction. I would point left or right, and she would go that direction and take the jump. Then we worked a little with the broad jump, just for some fun. She loved it. Then we went on to Obedience, working more on her heeling and turns. Her turns are getting really good, but her heeling and sits are still sloppy, but she's really come a long ways, and shouldn't be too much longer and her heel and sit will be great.

As for other people, the trainer has given me advice that if I take her around other people, to give them a bag of treats, and have them throw small handfuls on the ground for her before she has any kind of reaction, then work towards a nice sit for petting. And if still over-excited, to just walk away and try again later. And the trainer has said the same things as what a few other people online have told me, that she's just at the age where she's going to start testing me more and more to see how far she can go, and that this phase in her life will pass and she should mellow out more. But being a cattle dog, I don't really see her mellowing out too much, lol.


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## Lonewolfblue (Oct 28, 2007)

New update here, Betty is going in for her first herding class on Sunday at 4pm. It's going to be great, and I think this time I'm going to be wearing my boots, and not my good shoes like the last time and was muddy up to my pockets, lol. It was great, lol.


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## Lonewolfblue (Oct 28, 2007)

Well, a few weeks ago Betty had her instinct test done, and did pretty well. Now today, she finally had her first class. She did really good. The last few weeks she's been working on her Downs, and it really showed today. We did a little work with her Downs as we were approaching the class area where the sheep were. As we got closer, her anxiety really got to her, and she wanted in there bad. But we wouldn't advance til she would Down. When she obeyed the command, we got closer to the sheep, and would have her down again.

Then for in the ring, she did pretty well. She did break them up a couple times, but then got back under control. Since she's doing well off the bat, now it's time for me to be taught, lol. I need to learn where exactly to go when I release her behind the sheep. So, next time we go, I think that's what I'll ask Monique, to basically get me to where I'm on the same page as Betty and be in the correct position for her to do her job effectively. But overall, she did very well, and we ended the class on a very good run where she drove the sheep to us, and dropped like a rock when the Down command was issued. And we praised her highly to let her know she did a Very Good Job.


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## ChrissyBz (Aug 10, 2007)

Congrats! All that hard work's paying off. You must be so proud.


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## Lonewolfblue (Oct 28, 2007)

I'm really thinking that this is the route Betty would rather take. With her issues with other dogs on leash, it makes it awfully difficult to try and get her ready to do Rally. But for herding, she loves it, and she's got no issues with the other dogs as well. I never thought I could drain her energy, but even a day later, she's still crashed, lol. We did a good walk this morning, and now she's back to laying on the linoleum floor crashed, lol.

Edit:
Yesterday she actually started out by us going on a hike through a wildlife area. We did a little over a 4 hour hike while we waited for classtime. I got there a tad early, lol. So after that nice hike, then the class, she was completely spent, lol.


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## ChrissyBz (Aug 10, 2007)

Yayyyyyy!  A tired dog is a happy dog.


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## Lonewolfblue (Oct 28, 2007)

Well Betty's class went well today. We went down to the park to work with other dogs, and she did well. We didn't get real close, but when the other dogs passed, we had her sit, and gave her treats. She was pretty happy today.

I also went to the Humane Society and saw several dogs. Wish I could take them all home, lol. But I did find 2 that I really like, both are Australian Shepherd mixes. Check them out....

http://www.petfinder.com/petnote/displaypet.cgi?petid=10675913

http://www.petfinder.com/petnote/displaypet.cgi?petid=10772833

Was looking at maybe one or both, lol. If only one, then it would be Malibu, as he's a male. And with my new kennel, until I'm sure that Betty's fine with them, I can keep them separate while I'm not around. And all 2 or 3 will have their separate kennels as well when inside the house. But I'm not 100% sure yet on how soon. I still need to get the 6ft fence up in the back yard, which I'm hoping to do during my vacation, which is coming very soon.


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## melgrj7 (Sep 21, 2007)

Have you looked int constructional aggression treatment with betty? It has a very high success rate with treating dogs who are aggressive or fearful of other dogs or people.

Its awesome that she is enjoying herding and both those dogs are really cute!


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## Lonewolfblue (Oct 28, 2007)

Actually, I've never heard of constructional aggression treatment. What is it?


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## melgrj7 (Sep 21, 2007)

"Current consensus in behavioral science labels aggression as a classical conditioning problem, and the treatment, accordingly, is desensitization and counter conditioning. But that might all change in the future. Research done at the University of North Texas suggests that classical treatments for aggression may have us all barking up the wrong tree. Kellie Snider and Dr. Jesus Rosales-Ruiz have devised a shaping-based, operant approach to treating aggression in clients' homes that is producing stronger and much faster results than classical treatments." from: http://www.behaviorlogic.com/id160.html

You can read a very good article about it here: http://www.whole-dog-journal.com/issues/11_5/features/Modifying-Aggressive-Dog-Behavior_16029-1.html but you have to sign up to read it. I am having a hard time finding other articles about it online, sorry! From what I have read, and heard it sounds really awesome.

It basically teaches the dog that being calm and quiet makes the other dog go away. By the end of it many dogs actually exhibit happy behaviors when seeing the other dog, like play bows and such.

You might want to mention it to your trainer (who you use to help with her dog aggression). They may find it interesting enough to buy the DVD and try it out.


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## Lonewolfblue (Oct 28, 2007)

I'm going to keep looking for more info on it. Thanks.....


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## Lonewolfblue (Oct 28, 2007)

Well, I went and checked, and Malibu is still on antibiotics. But they did tell me that he's far enough along that if Betty is current on her Bordetella shots, which she is, that we can have them meet if I wanted. I may wait a little longer though. I did get to go and see him, but from a distance. He's a great looking dog, but thought the writeup said he's mild mannered and affectionate, lol. When the gal went to look at his stuff, he really was excited, jumping up on her and everything, lol. Not what I really expected, lol. And not sure how Betty would react to such excitement. But I'll let their pro's there help me with the meet, as they do this almost every day, introducing new dogs to current dogs. Hopefully all will go well when I do, as I'm still interested. As for tinkerbelle, she's the sweetest, most gentle gal I've met. She is just a total sweetheart.

I also saw a female GSD in there as well, her name is Princess. She looks to be purebreed as well, and is very affectionate. Just so many nice dogs in there, wish I had room for them all, lol. And they do have a rather large number of pits as well, which I'm not really interested in. The number of pits being bred here has skyrocketed from what I hear, and feel sorry for all those that end up in the shelters because of the poor judgement of the BYB's, which should be banned. But people do it all the time without the consideration for the dogs.

Well, I just got a call from the gal that was wanting to rehome her Border Collie. She's just having a hard time making time to train her, and with working so much, she doesn't have the time. So I'll be picking Nell up next Sunday. I can't wait. And I'm thinking that she'll be a good match for Betty because she gets along so well with all the other Border Collies at the herding class. So I'm looking forward to it. And with now having an additional kennel, I have more than enough room for another dog.

Betty had class today as well. We had the class down at the park. It went very well. The trainer actually brought her Border Collie for the class, and Betty had zero issues with her. The only issues she had was when 3 small white dogs went by, almost looked like JRT's I think. She wanted to lunge at them, and when I took her focus off for just a second, she went back to a sit. Overall, we had a great session, and walked side-by-side with the border collie with no issues at all.


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## Lonewolfblue (Oct 28, 2007)

melgrj7 said:


> Have you looked int constructional aggression treatment with betty? It has a very high success rate with treating dogs who are aggressive or fearful of other dogs or people.
> 
> Its awesome that she is enjoying herding and both those dogs are really cute!


I just got the DVD's yesterday. Was spendy, but talk about awsome. A completely different approach. I'm going to be letting the trainer watch it as well. Very good program.


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## Lonewolfblue (Oct 28, 2007)

New update. I won't be getting the Aussies. I just got a call from the gal that I was going to get the Border Collie from, and she was just not able to make time for the BC, and had decided that she needed to rehome her. She asked if I was still interested, and I said yet. So Sunday I'll be picking up the BC. Can't wait. And I think that Betty should do just fine, as she seems to do really well with BC's.


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## ChrissyBz (Aug 10, 2007)

Congratulations. Pics? Pleeeeeeeaaaaase?


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## Lonewolfblue (Oct 28, 2007)

Will definitely have pics......


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## melgrj7 (Sep 21, 2007)

Very cool! If you decide to do it with your dog, let me know how it works out please I want to get the DVDs when I have the $$ for it.



Lonewolfblue said:


> I just got the DVD's yesterday. Was spendy, but talk about awsome. A completely different approach. I'm going to be letting the trainer watch it as well. Very good program.


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## Lonewolfblue (Oct 28, 2007)

ChrissyBz said:


> Congratulations. Pics? Pleeeeeeeaaaaase?


Here's a couple pics she sent me of when she was a tiny pup......


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## Lonewolfblue (Oct 28, 2007)

Well, tomorrow is the day. Can't wait. We will be driving a ways to pick up Nell.

I just talked to my neighbor today. He's got a registered male BC. I knew he had a BC, but wasn't sure if it was a purebreed or a mix. He's a purebreed. And the neighbor said if I ever wanted babies to let him know, lol. I told him I didn't think so, as I will probably have her spayed. The only reason, if I didn't have her spayed, would be that if I got to the point where she's titled, and ready to retire, I would think about pups to raise. But I'm not really sure I want to do that. I might talk to a few other people about it, like my trainers both here and on the coast, but more than likely I'm leaning towards getting her spayed. Her parents are actually working dogs who have several titles themselves. And my neighbor said his guy, named Ruger (as in the gun), is also from working parents on a ranch. But I didn't ask if they ever competed or not.

But anyways, I'm excited. Hopefully Betty will be nice enough of a girl when we are there. And now that I've watched my new DVD's on CAT (Constructional Aggression Treatment), the gal has offered to spend whatever time we needed to make the introduction a positive one, even if it's all afternoon with several sessions. Hopefully her plans don't change, lol.


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## melgrj7 (Sep 21, 2007)

The puppy looks really cute Good luck with your introductions!


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## Lonewolfblue (Oct 28, 2007)

Well, all is going pretty well, the girls are getting along fantastic. They are inseparable. As for Betty, tomorrow I'm sending in her application for the AKC ILP registration. We are hoping she get's her ILP so we can actually do some Herding Tests and Trials if we get that far. We haven't been going to training lately since the hike in gas prices. We are hoping to find something closer, but if not, I may have to make some adjustments so we can continue her classes. Just wanted to let everyone know all is going great between the girls.....

Here's a couple pics....


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## Lonewolfblue (Oct 28, 2007)

Other than the credit card clearing, I haven't heard anything yet on Betty's ILP registration. But today I got an email confirmation on Nell's AKC Open Registration. She's been accepted, and is now registered with the AKC, as well as the ABCA. It also said I'll be getting her papers in the mail in a couple days. Can't wait...


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## Lonewolfblue (Oct 28, 2007)

Here's Betty's new current list of commands...... 

Sit - Voice/hand command 
Down - Voice/hand command 
Stay - Voice/hand command 
Come - Voice/hand command
Stand - Hand Command, Voice still needs work
Heel - Voice Command, Hand still needs work 
Good Dog 
Bad Dog 
Potty 
Up - Voice only 
Jump - Voice only 
Let's Go 
no - Voice/hand command 
ah-ah (Goes with no) 
Betty - Her name 
In the house (She goes in her kennel) 
Out of the house (She comes out of her kennel) 
Go for Walk (To go for a walk) 
ball 
toy 
Get the ball - Brings the ball. 
Where's the ball - Goes and touches the ball with nose, returns with no ball. 
Get the toy - Brings the toy. 
Where's the toy - Goes and touches the toy with nose, returns with no toy. 
Off
Out

Words she's currently learning... 
Crawl 
Place 
Watch me - Learning Voice/Hand Command 

Rally things she does.... These are done on leash, but does better off leash with no distractions. Still sloppy on some of the things, we are now in the phase of tweaking everything in. 

*May be used multiple times on a course. 

1. START – Indicates the beginning of the course. 
2.FINISH – Indicates the end of the course - timing stops. 
3. HALT – Sit. While heeling, the handler halts and the dog comes to a sit in heel position. The team then moves forward toward the next exercise sign (station), with the dog in heel position. (Stationary exercise) 
4. HALT – Sit – Down. While heeling, the handler halts and the dog comes to a sit. The handler then commands the dog to down, followed by the command to heel forward from the down position. (Stationary exercise) 
5. * Right Turn. Performed as a 90º turn to the right, as in traditional obedience. 
6. * Left Turn. Performed as a 90º turn to the left, as in traditional obedience. 
7. *About Turn – Right. While heeling, the team makes a 180º about turn to the handler’s right. 
8. * About “U” Turn. While heeling, the team makes a 180º about turn to the handler’s left. 
9. * 270° Right Turn. While heeling, the team makes a 270º turn to the handler’s right. 270° turns are performed as a tight circle, but not around the exercise sign. 
10. * 270° Left Turn. While heeling, the team makes a 270º turn to the handler’s left. 270º turns are performed as a tight circle, but not around the exercise sign. 
11. 360° Right Turn. While heeling, the team makes a 360º turn to the handler’s right. 360º turns are performed as a tight circle, but not around the exercise sign. 
12. 360° Left Turn. While heeling, the team makes a 360º turn to the handler’s left. 360º turns are performed as a tight circle, but not around the exercise sign. 
13. Call Front – Finish Right - Forward. While heeling, the handler stops forward motion and calls the dog to the front position (dog sits in front and faces the handler). The handler may take several steps backward as the dog turns and moves to sit in the front position. The second part of the exercise directs the handler to move forward while commanding the dog to change from the front position to the handler’s right, around behind the handler and to heel position, as the handler continues forward. The dog does not sit before moving forward in heel position with the handler. (Stationary exercise) 
14. Call Front – Finish Left - Forward. While heeling, the handler stops forward motion and calls the dog to the front position (dog sits in front and faces the handler). The handler may take several steps backward as the dog turns and moves to sit in the front position. The second part of the exercise directs the handler to move forward while commanding the dog to change from the front position to the handler’s left and moving to heel position, as the handler continues forward. The dog does not sit before moving forward in heel position with the handler. (Stationary exercise) 
15. Call Front – Finish Right - HALT. While heeling, the handler stops forward motion and calls the dog to the front position (dog sits in front and faces the handler). The handler may take several steps backward as the dog turns and moves to sit in the front position. The second part is the finish to the right, where the dog must return to heel position by moving around the right side of the handler. Dog must sit in heel position before moving forward with the handler. (Stationary exercise) 
16. Call Front – Finish Left - HALT. While heeling, the handler stops forward motion and calls the dog to the front position (dog sits in front and faces the handler). The handler may take several steps backward as the dog turns and moves to a sit in the front position. The second part is the finish to the left, where the dog must move to the handler’s left and sit in heel position. Dog must sit in heel position before moving forward in heel position with the handler. (Stationary exercise) 
17. * Slow Pace. Dog and handler must slow down noticeably. This must be followed by a normal pace, unless it is the last station in the class. 
18. * Fast Pace. Dog and handler must speed up noticeably. This must be followed by a normal pace, unless it is the last station in the class. 
19. * Normal Pace. Dog and handler must move forward, walking briskly and naturally. 
20. Moving Side Step Right. While heeling, the handler takes one step diagonally to the right and continues moving forward along the newly established line. The dog maintains heel position. The exercise may be performed just past the exercise sign. 
21. Spiral Right – Dog Outside. This exercise requires three pylons or posts placed in a straight line with spaces between them of approximately 6 - 8 feet. Spiral Right indicates the handler must turn to the right when moving around each pylon or post. The first pass is going around all 3 pylons, then the 2nd pass you go around only 2 pylons, and the final pass you just go around 1 pylon. 
22. Spiral Left – Dog Inside. This exercise requires three pylons or posts placed in a straight line with spaces between them of approximately 6 - 8 feet. Spiral Left indicates that the handler must turn to the left when moving around each pylon or post. This places the dog on the inside of the turns. The exercise sign is placed near or on the first pylon or post where the spiral is started. The first pass is going around all 3 pylons, then the 2nd pass you go around only 2 pylons, and the final pass you just go around 1 pylon. 
23. Straight Figure 8 Weave Twice. This exercise requires four obstacles (pylons, posts or people) placed in a straight line with spaces between them of approximately 6 - 8 feet. The exercise sign is placed near or on the first obstacle where the exercise is started. Entry into the weaving pattern is with the first obstacle at the dog/handler’s left side. 
24. Serpentine Weave Once. This exercise requires four obstacles (pylons, posts or people) placed in a straight line with spaces between them of approximately 6 - 8 feet. The exercise sign is placed near or on the first obstacle where the exercise is started. Entry into the weaving pattern is with the first obstacle at the dog/handler’s left side. It should be noted that in this exercise, the team does not weave back through the obstacles as they do in the Straight Figure 8. 
25. HALT – 1, 2, 3 Steps Forward. The team halts with the dog sitting in heel position to begin the exercise. The handler takes one step forward, with the dog maintaining heel position, and halts. The dog sits when the handler halts. This is followed by two steps forward - halt, and three steps forward - halt, with the dog heeling each time the handler moves forward, and sitting each time the handler halts. (Stationary exercise) 
26. Call Front – 1, 2, 3 Steps Backward. While heeling, the handler stops forward motion and calls the dog to the front position (dog sits in front and faces the handler). The handler may take several steps backward as the dog turns and moves to a sit in the front position. With the dog in the front position, the handler takes one step backward and halts. The dog moves with the handler and sits in the front position as the handler halts. This is followed by the handler taking two steps backward and a halt, and three steps backward and a halt. Each time, the dog moves with the handler to the front position and sits as the handler halts. The handler then commands the dog to resume heel position as the team moves forward toward the next station. (Stationary exercise) 
27. Moving Down. While moving with the dog in heel position, the handler commands the dog to drop to a down position, as the handler pauses next to the dog. Once the dog is completely in the down position, the handler moves forward commanding the dog to heel from the down position. (Stationary exercise) 
28. HALT – Fast Forward From Sit. With the dog sitting in heel position, the handler commands the dog to heel and immediately moves forward at a fast pace. This must be followed by a normal pace, unless it is the last station in the class. (Stationary exercise) 
29. Left About Turn. While moving with the dog in heel position, the handler makes an about turn to the left, while at the same time, the dog must move around the handler to the right and to heel position. The dog does not sit before moving forward in heel position with the handler. 
30. HALT – Walk Around Dog. With the dog sitting in heel position, the handler commands the dog to stay, then proceeds to walk around the dog to the left, returning to heel position. The handler must pause in heel position before moving forward to the next station. (Stationary exercise) 
31. HALT – Down – Walk Around Dog. With dog sitting in heel position, the handler commands the dog to down and stay, then proceeds to walk around the dog to the left, returning to heel position. The handler must pause in heel position before moving forward to the next station.The dog heels forward from the down position. (Stationary exercise)


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## Lonewolfblue (Oct 28, 2007)

Lonewolfblue said:


> Other than the credit card clearing, I haven't heard anything yet on Betty's ILP registration. But today I got an email confirmation on Nell's AKC Open Registration. She's been accepted, and is now registered with the AKC, as well as the ABCA. It also said I'll be getting her papers in the mail in a couple days. Can't wait...


I think I had lost this thread a while back ago, lol. Betty's now got her ILP/PAL number, for those who might have missed it in the other thread. 

Well, Betty's doing awsome with her training on the side. She's not going to class, we are taking Chloe for now. But I still train her on and off a few times a week. Since I'm on vacation, I have been able to borrow the trainers ecollar for Betty. We have used it a couple times in the past when I was taking Betty, so it's not new to her. So I'll go over how things went this week.

When I first brought it home, I just put it on Betty, left it off. Then a couple times I would pull out the hot dogs and turn it on. This ecollar has a tone button, so I would use the tone as a good thing, would beep then feed, beep then feed, beep then feed. I did this a few times before actually working with her.

Then I took her out in the yard, hoping to work with her racing the fenceline and possibly turning on Nell or Chloe like she did a while back with Nell. So the first gal that walked by was on the other side of the street. She had a Collie that looks just like Lassie. Betty would always throw a fit when they walked by. I noticed they were coming, and as I thought Betty was going to charge, I beeped her. She immediately turned around and ran to me, waiting for the hot dogs. So I showered hot dogs on her. She did great. Then a little later, a gal with 2 pugs walked by on our side of the street. Betty always goes ballistic with these. At the time, she was sitting next to me and they came out into view and I thought Betty was going to go ballistic. She then began raising her rump off the ground, and as she felt her rump leave the ground, she sat right back down and looked at me. I then immediately beeped her and gave hot dogs. It was great. She did very well.

Then I took her for a walk. We walked by the dreaded white poodles. When we got close, she started charging, and I had to give a correction. She stopped and looked around, didn't know what it was. Then lunged again and one more correction, and then she turned and came right to me and sat, and I beeped and gave hot dogs. We continued walking and sitting, then beep and treat. I'm sure the neighbors loved us because the poodles were going crazy, lol. Then I turned around a couple times and went back and forth, having her heel, sit, beep, and treat. She did very well. 

After the poodles, then we moved on to the monster dog that always sets her off, which is also on our normal route. She lunged and I corrected her once. Then she thought about lunging again, then turned and looked at me. I beeped and she sat and I fed her hot dogs. We walked a little further, and she was getting ready to lunge again and stopped. As soon as she stopped, I beeped her, she turned and sat in front of me and hot dogs. We did this a few more times back and forth, sit, beep, treat.

We then continued on our walk til we got home. I then was wondering what she actually learned, so I decided to do that walk again. First we got to the white poodles. She didn't lunge. She was a little antsy, but when I asked for a sit, she sat, and I beeped and rewarded. Did this a couple times. Then we went on to the monster dog again. We actually walked by with no issues, even though the other dog was being just like Betty does in my yard, lol. But for this one, we are actually across the street, we don't walk on the same side of the street due to the fence only being a 3ft fence, which he could easily jump if he really wanted. And if you wanted to know, I think he's an Aussie/Rottie mix. I had her sit a couple times, and she would take a peek over at the other dog then look at me, and I would beep and treat. She did very well.

Now for today, we took another walk again. I had a slight issue at the poodles, and she was getting ready to lunge and I immediately turned around and walked away about 20 feet. I then turned back around and slowly walked up, having her sit, beep, and treat. Then when we were in front of the poodles, driving them nuts, Betty was sitting next to me and I told her, boy those poodles are sure noisy, and she just looked at me, lol. I beeped her and treated. Then in a happy tone I said "Let's go" and I started running down the sidewalk, and she happily followed. We then walked by the monster dog, and she had no issues once again. I stopped, beeped, and treated. We also did a couple Rally practice moves in front of that dog, and Betty did just fine. She wasn't even stressed much at all, and for each move we did, she snapped to position. Then got the beep and treat. It was great.

At todays training with Chloe, I found out that the person that she trains with using the collar is still down in LA, and doesn't need it back yet. So I get to use it for another week. Once we get to where she's doing better, the trainer has also loaned me her dummy ecollar, which I will start using. This way I can start the phase-out of the ecollar. I'm hoping to start this process this week, so when I have to return the ecollar, she will be on the dummy collar. 

Another thing I'm working on is charging the clicker with her. When I'm on the dummy collar, I'll start clicking and treating when we walk by these tough places for her. But I think she's made some real progress, and learning that good things do happen when she just stays with me. I haven't been able to do this with her on her regular collar, and the prong collar just escillated the reactivity. And with the success we had when we used it at the park several months ago, I thought I would just try it one more time. And it's working. If I don't have to correct, I won't. And, depending on how she's positioning herself, I can usually catch the beep just right and she turns right around for her reward for not lunging. Can't wait til I switch over to the clicker. I don't think I could have got this far any other way, and I think I only corrected her 4 times total the whole week, and it was mostly on the first day. And with the one lunge yesterday, instead of correcting, I just turned around and walked away. Then went and retried using some sits, beeps, and treats, we got by with very little issues. And I don't forsee using the corrections any more, will build on what she's learned, and will continue pouring the treats (hot dogs). We also have Betty's appointment next week to see the vet again, this time we are getting her thyroid test done to see if there's any problems there. Hopefully we will be able to clear her medically, but if it's the whole cause of her problems, I would really be happy to get this corrected, even if it means a perscription for the rest of her life. I wouldn't mind having to give her meds as needed, especially if it really brings her levels down and no longer gets so elevated so fast. It's like on a scale of 1-10 she lives at 7 or 8, and the sight of a dog takes her to 10 or 10+. But we'll see, just another thing I'm looking forward to getting done.

Another thing to add (this is an edit to the above) is we went on a second walk, and walked by a place where there's usually a couple kids and a chiwawa. This chi is so small, her head fits through a chain link fence, lol. And a half of a thin piece of hot dog doesn't even fit in her mouth, lol. But anyways, they were asking some questions about Betty and Betty tried lunging once at the chi, and I had to correct her. She stopped. And it looked like she wanted to lunge again and I beeped her, she immediately turned to me and got her hot dog. From that point on, she didn't lunge any more. We were at first about 3 feet from the fence, and then got to where Betty was sitting right next to the fence and she actually calmed down. I could just see that stress in her relax. Ger tail, her ears, her face, her legs and body. Just completely relaxed within 3 minutes. And they kept the chi from sticking her head through the fence as well, just as a precaution. And betty actually sniffed a couple times, I didn't let her touch the fence, just let her nose get within 2 inches of the fence, and she was just fine. I petted her, gave her hot dogs, and lots of praise. One of the kids asked what kind of collar she had on, and I told them about it, and that I was only using it as a last resort for her issues. They also asked how she got along with the other 2 dogs, as they've actually got to meet and pet both Chloe and Nell. I told them they get along just fine, and that it took a couple hours to introduce them to Betty, but when we were done, they were playing just fine. The older boy also said that when it's time to let his chi go (whether it's PTS or natural death) as she's 10 yrs old, he's wanting a dog that he can train for Obedience. I told him that he can get just about any dog and do that, as there are mixed breed clubs out there. Or he could get a purebreed and work towards the AKC Obedience or Rally events. I don't know exactly what kind of dog he's interested in, I just know that he's wanting a medium sized dog, not small or large. So I told him to do his research early. I would say he's about 14 yrs old right now, and very interested in dogs. And his family helps with the current dog while he's at school, and you can tell he's done very well with his chi. She's very well mannered, and I got to give her a couple small pieces of hot dogs. She was cool.


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## Lonewolfblue (Oct 28, 2007)

Well, we went for a walk again today, and it went great. I brought some really good treats, and we got by the poodles, Betty gave one bark and then sat next to me. So I treated her. We kept going, then turned around and walked by again, doing a few sits as well. She's doing really well. Then we continued on and got to the monster dog. He was pretty furious today, and raced the fenceline. But Betty didn't do much other than walk with me. I did a couple sits there as well, and she watched me for the treat. It was great. Then we got to where the chi was, but they weren't out. I think she wanted her out there, she was looking for her. Once we got home, we then continued on with the walk, going a different route. The walk went great. I only had one issue where she didn't like this one guy walking down the sidewalk. So we just went out into the street and went around him. Other than that, all went very well. I think on Monday I'm going to start carrying the clicker with me. I just want to get one more day of charging the clicker before actually using it.

Once we got home, we still had some good treats left. So we stayed out on the sidewalk and did some Rally practice. We worked on both right and left turns, 1-step, 2-step, and 3-step, and a few other things. And her focus is getting really good. When working, she really has been snapping to position as well, which is great. Her sits are fast, fast downs as well. And as soon as I stop, she snaps to a sit in perfect position. It's great. I just wish I could get her into Rally, my other 2 aren't learning near as fast. But Chloe is doing pretty good with the Obedience. She just doesn't have the Stay down, as soon as I turn to walk away, she tries to go with me. We have also been working on her fast heel as well, as she was prone to jumping and getting ahead when I pick up the pace. We are very close to having that corrected now.


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## Lonewolfblue (Oct 28, 2007)

Update....

We just got back from the vet. We had the thyroid panel done on Betty. Actually he said the blood panel checks other areas as well, such as kidneys, liver, etc. They send it off and I'll have the results tomorrow. Said it will take 24 hours. Will let you know how it goes.


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## Lonewolfblue (Oct 28, 2007)

Well, got a call from the vet and they said the test turned out good. They said for the thyroid, normal is 1-4 and she's at 2.9. So this all rules out the medical side. They did say that the only thing that turned out a little low, but isn't a problem, is one of the liver enzymes. He said they would only be concerned is if it was high. Other than that. everything else in the bloodwork turned out normal. So now, for her weight issues, I will have to rework her diet and probably more exercise. Could also be that she's putting on a few pounds for the winter as well. She should be 35-38lbs and she's 49lbs. So she's a little over.


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## Lonewolfblue (Oct 28, 2007)

Well, we hit another road bump, and it's pretty scary. We had a Show and Go tonight, and I brought all 3 dogs. I took one out of the car at a time and did Rally, all except for Betty. Betty didn't want to have anything to do with any other dog, and then turned and almost attacked 2 people. I immediately took her away. There wasn't a lot of dogs and I thought I could control her, as the day before we had a really good day of working around other dogs, and she did very well. In fact, there were some people that had a pack of 6 rotties, and we were working within 25 yards of them with no issues at all. Usually she would be lunging. The only time she lunged was when one of the people threw out a frisbee and a rottie went after it to catch it, that triggered her and we had to walk away, then slowly worked back to that distance again.


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## Lonewolfblue (Oct 28, 2007)

Well, I think it's time to resurrect this thread with some new pics......


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## Lonewolfblue (Oct 28, 2007)

Here's Betty on a COLD WINTER NIGHT...... LOL


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## Lonewolfblue (Oct 28, 2007)

Well, some other training I'm doing is with Betty. She's got High-5 and Gimme-10 down, now I'm training her to weave between my legs. She's catching on fast, lol. Got her doing 1 leg, and working on the other leg. Then will work combining both for 1 full step, then 2 steps, then more.


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## Lonewolfblue (Oct 28, 2007)

Betty did something really funny last night. They were in the front yard chasing each other, and there's holes that her and Nell dug. Well, it's now all covered in snow. They were running around, and Betty went up and over a rock, and her next step was the hole, lol. She went face first into the deep snow and flipped over on her back, lol. I wasn't out there but saw it through the window. She got right back up and started racing around the yard again. Now I just know if I was out there and made a big thing out of it that she would be afraid of hidden holes, dogs just sometimes do that. But they just kept playing chase around the yard.


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## Lonewolfblue (Oct 28, 2007)

Well, I was just playing around with Betty and took this short video of her doing a couple weaves.

[GOOGLEVIDEO]http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=7419889518775095967[/GOOGLEVIDEO]


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## Lonewolfblue (Oct 28, 2007)

Well, I did it again, lol. I spent lots of money, lol. But it was all well worth it. Some of the things I got included:

In Focus by Deborah Jones and Judy Keller - The book.
Constructional Aggression Treatment 2nd Edition
Improve Your I-Cue by Kathy Sdao
Know Way Know How by Kathy Sdao
Advanced Clicker Training by Kathy Sdao
In-Home Private Training by Nicole Wilde
Click To Calm by Emma Parsons

And the list goes on and on an on, lol. Even got one of those Chase 'N Pull Toys. Betty absolutely love it, lol. So now I got hours and hours and hours and hours of DVD watching, LOL. And I love bringing Chloe in to Dogwise, they love her, and she likes meeting their dogs as well. It's always fun going in there.


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## Lonewolfblue (Oct 28, 2007)

Well, new update. Betty's doing great with the shaping. She's now got both legs chained together about 70% of the time and getting better. Now I'm upping the ante a bit to get this to 80% or better. She's doing great. 

Also, she really amazed me tonight. We were doing the weaving, and I didn't even step forward and she did a full figure 8 around my legs, both of them. Even though it's not what we were working on, I had to click and treat that. Then she did it again, and clicked and treated again. It just came out of nowhere. I was really impressed, lol.


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## Allie3985 (Jul 19, 2008)

I have an Australian Cattle Dog that has had similiar problems and group classes were definately a god send. Great job getting her into classes! I started mine in agility after a few obedince classes and it has given her confidence that I didn't think possible. We recently got an award at the obedience club for "most improved." ACDs learn so fast, you two have an awesome future ahead of you.


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## Lonewolfblue (Oct 28, 2007)

Actually, Betty's classes are with a private trainer. They are not in group classes. I would not be able to have her yet in a group setting. She's not ready for that, she would be uncontrollable. The Rally classes she's been going through are private classes, which she hasn't been back to in a while now. And the trainer no longer wants to work with her issues as well. So everything I'm doing with Betty now is on my own. Many of the training DVD's and books I've been purchasing have been for 2 things, my knowlege in dog training, and to possibly help me work with Betty, and better manage her, in hopes that maybe someday down the road we would be able to do Rally competitions, which she loves doing Rally and would excel in. The other class she's been to was herding, which was also private classes, but they had some Border Collies there that she's gotten along well with. Which was also my reason to get Nell when I did as well.


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## Lonewolfblue (Oct 28, 2007)

Here's another weaving video of Betty. You can see Nell goof at the end, lol.....

[GOOGLEVIDEO]http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-4954549660312625010[/GOOGLEVIDEO]


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