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Positive Thoughts for Jake Please

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BraveheartDogs

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So excellent on all counts. All of that is perfect, I am so happy for you! I am so glad that you pushed for more information and realized that it was not okay that it was provided to you.

I just got back from a field trial with our dogs. My husband runs Venom, our young, reactive male. I had already run my girl Everly and was going back to my friends RV with her and I saw my husband across the parking lot. He had Venom on leash and saw a friend who was walking two puppies. He hadn't seen her in a long time and they went to hug. I was too far away to say anything, but I thought, "Oh no, not good, not good" and then, the puppies jumped on him, they all got tangled he got reactive and snarked. They go into the field and guess what? Venom doesn't hunt, is hyperfocused ont he other dog, runs to the other dog and is picked up (that just means he is done hunting). So, we had to have a heart to heart:) I just told him, you HAVE to advocate for him. It is OKAY to tell Sheila, hold on one second and call me to hold him, or have her hand her puppies to someone. It is not okay to 1) let him get in that situation and 2) run him after he has already gotten heightened where he could frighten another dog. He understood. I totally get how challenging it is to get everyone on board. My husband is on board but still isn't always diligent enough. Anyway, I am super excited about your plan. It is a good, solid one.

Just wanted to come back and update that we've had a better weekend with Jake. We have an consultation with a dog behaviourist booked for December 1st that we feel good about the methods she uses. Until then we will keep Jake in the house and in the back yard to avoid potential issues.

We did talk with the dog walker on Friday evening and I was disappointed in that discussion. I tried to ask a lot of questions to try and help us figure out what triggered the response from Jake, but she wasn't helpful at all. She just kept saying she didn't do anything different there wasn't anyone else around. Needless to say we don't trust them anymore so we will no longer be using their services.

We got Jake some new toys to help with mental stimulation today so we can work on physical and mental stimulation.
 

crystaljam

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We find Fynn always does better without Gideon around (he can be around other dogs, is calmer, etc.) - there's no need for him to vie being top dog over his big brother. And LOTS of exercise does help a LOT.

Have you tried feeding Jake with a treat ball or Buster Cube? For Fynn this slows down his eating, and literally keeps him on the move for at least half an hour.

It's nice to find mentally stimulating toys for them - which can be a challenge with the bigger/stronger jaws.
 

lzver

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Crystal, we do have one of the Buster cubes for Jake and we do use it daily but we don’t feed an entire meal from it. I could certainly try that for at least his dinner.

We will be asking the behaviorist for suggestions on activities/toys we can use for mental stimulation. Last evening we played ‘find your toy’ in that when he found a toy we were asking for and he brought it to us we switched and had him find another toy. We did this for about 20 minutes last night and he was panting afterwards and lay down to take a nap shortly afterwards. Could have been a coincidence I guess. But over the past month or so we have found that simply walking or running him is not enough. He comes home still looking for more.

We also got a new type of Kong toy where you can hide treats and that kept him entertained for quite some time last night as well.

Not that it’s a resolution to the behavioral issues we need to fix, but it keeps him occupied so he’s not bored and jumping on the counter to find something to steal and turn it into a game.
 

BraveheartDogs

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Most of the time, my client dogs with behavior issues DO need more mental stimulation. Also, k9 nose work would be great for him. You don't have to do classes, or even ever get him on odor, but just the box work is great for dogs. It builds confidence AND tires them out:)

Crystal, we do have one of the Buster cubes for Jake and we do use it daily but we don’t feed an entire meal from it. I could certainly try that for at least his dinner.

We will be asking the behaviorist for suggestions on activities/toys we can use for mental stimulation. Last evening we played ‘find your toy’ in that when he found a toy we were asking for and he brought it to us we switched and had him find another toy. We did this for about 20 minutes last night and he was panting afterwards and lay down to take a nap shortly afterwards. Could have been a coincidence I guess. But over the past month or so we have found that simply walking or running him is not enough. He comes home still looking for more.

We also got a new type of Kong toy where you can hide treats and that kept him entertained for quite some time last night as well.

Not that it’s a resolution to the behavioral issues we need to fix, but it keeps him occupied so he’s not bored and jumping on the counter to find something to steal and turn it into a game.
 

Danita

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I know when I have Izzy on her own with no Sissy, she is VERY needy, she cries and bonks me with her nose, rests her head on my lap, moans and groans, tries to show me the door, and paws me. She needs interaction from me most of the day.
 

crystaljam

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Mmm...is the K9 training you're talking about, Braveheart, like the Dumbell Scent things? My dad used to do this with our dogs (and make the scent dumbells) - they got SO excited when they had this job :)
 

lzver

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I'll have to do more research on the k9 nose thing. Is that something we could start in the house or our backyard?
 

lzver

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I’m currently reading the book Culture Clash by Jean Donaldson. If anyone is having any kind of behavioral issue with their dogs, I highly recommend this book. I just had a BIG ‘Oh … that’s why that is happening’ moment! Excellent book for understanding why dogs behave the way they do. Once you understand that, it’s a lot easier to correct the issue.
 

waterfaller1

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Good to know, thanks! I only have two issues with Heartly. I think they could be easily fixed. I hope everything works out well for Jake and you.:hug8:
 

lzver

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This is an excerpt from Jean Donaldson’s book called Culture Clash. This really struck a cord with me and is such a unique way to help people understand how different humans and dogs really are. Really makes me think differently about how we deal with Jake on a daily basis.


Imagine you live on a planet where the dominant species is far more intellectually sophisticated than human beings but often keeps humans as companion animals. They are called the Gorns. They communicate with each other via a combination of telepathy, eye movements and high-pitched squeaks, unintelligible and unlearnable by humans, whose brains are prepared for verbal language acquisition only. What humans sometimes learn is the meaning of individual sounds by repeated association with things of relevance to them. The Gorns and humans bond strongly but there are many Gorn rules that humans must try to assimilate with limited information and usually high stakes.


You are one of the lucky humans who lives with the Gorns in their dwelling. Many other humans are chained to small cabanas in the yard or kept in outdoor pens of varying size. They have become so socially starved that they cannot control their emotions when a Gorn goes near them. Because of this behavior, the Gorns agree that they could never be house-humans. They are too excitable.

The dwelling you share with your Gorn family is filled with numerous waterfilled porcelain bowls, complete with flushers. Every time you try to urinate in one, though, any nearby Gorn attacks you. You learn to only use the toilet when there are no Gorns present. Sometimes they come home and stuff your head down the toilet for no apparent reason. You hate this and start sucking up to the Gorns when they come home to try and stave this off but they view this as increasing evidence of your guilt.

You are also punished for watching videos, reading certain books, talking to other human beings, eating pizza or cheesecake, and writing letters. These are all considered behavior problems by the Gorns. To avoid going crazy, once again you wait until they are not around to try doing anything you wish to do.

While they are around, you sit quietly, staring straight ahead. Because they witness this good behavior you are so obviously capable of, they attribute to “spite” the video watching and other transgressions that occur when you are alone. Obviously you resent being left alone, they figure. You are walked several times a day and left crossword-puzzle books to do. You have never used them because you hate crosswords; the Gorns think you’re ignoring them out of revenge.

Worst of all, you like them. They are, after all, often nice to you. But when you smile at them, they punish you, likewise for shaking hands. If you apologize they punish you again. You have not seen another human since you were a small child. When you see one on the street you are curious, excited and sometimes afraid. You really don’t know how to act. So, the Gorn you live with keeps you away from other humans. Your social skills never develop.

Top Ten Behavior Problems of Pet Humans on Planet Gorn
1. Watching TV
2. Use of water-filled porcelain bowls as elimination sites
3. Listening to music other than Country & Western
4. Talking to other humans
5. Smoking
6. Sitting on chairs (“How can I get him to stop sitting on
CHAIRS?!”)
7. Toothbrushing
8. Eating anything but (nutritionally balanced) Human
Chow
9. Shaking hands to greet
10. Smiling

Finally, you are brought to training school. A large part of the training consists of having your air briefly cut off by a metal chain around your neck. They are sure you understand every squeak and telepathic communication they make because you sometimes get it right. You are guessing and hate the training. You feel stressed out a lot of the time. One day, you see a Gorn approaching with the training collar in hand. You have PMS, a sore neck and you just don’t feel up to the baffling coercion about to ensue. You tell them in your sternest voice to please leave you alone and go away. The Gorns are shocked by this unprovoked aggressive behavior. They thought you had a good temperament.


They put you in one of their vehicles and take you for a drive. You watch the attractive planetary landscape going by and wonder where you are going. The vehicle stops and you are led into a building filled with the smell of human sweat and excrement. Humans are everywhere in small cages. Some are nervous, some depressed, most watch the goings on from their prisons. Your Gorns, with whom you have lived your entire life, hand you over to strangers who drag you to a small room. You are terrified and yell for your Gorn family to help you. They turn and walk out the door of the building. You are held down and given a lethal injection. It is, after all, the humane way to do it.

This nightmarish world is the one inhabited by many domestic dogs all the time. Virtually all natural dog behaviors—chewing, barking, rough play, chasing moving objects, eating food items within reach, jumping up to access faces, settling disputes with threat displays, establishing contact with strange dogs, guarding resources, leaning into steady pressure against their necks, urinating on porous surfaces like carpets, defending themselves from perceived threat—are considered by humans to be behavior problems. The rules that seem so obvious to us make absolutely no sense to dogs. They are not humans in dog suits.
 
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