Chilling Out, Spartacus Style

We recently started working with a new trainer. She hasn't met Sparty yet, but based on everything we have described she thinks he might have an anxiety disorder. We're not too sure ourselves.  Certain situations stress him out, but you oughta see him when we go on vacation to South Florida to visit family. He eats up it just like a regular old human tourist.

Strolling through historic neighborhoods, smiling about all the pretty colors.

Taking water breaks and time to sniff the flowers.

Laying out on the patio.

Lounging on luxurious beds in the sunroom.

Enjoying leisurely swims, and daintily fetching pine needles.

Followed by more laying out.

We'll keep you updated on his anxiety issues. At least he laps up the good life as much as any normal dog!

Tropical Games

Our special training class for reactive dogs just ended less than two weeks ago. Admitting our dog was reactive and focusing on training him was a bit of an emotional journey. We went a good year and a half in denial of Sparty's mounting aggression. Enrolling in a class and starting this blog helped us recognize our issues, define our goals, and document the huge leaps we've made together - but it's been draining too. After the countless hours of training walks and special trips to the dog park just to work on training, everyone was ready for a short vacation. Within days of finishing class, we packed up the pooches and even our kitty and drove down to visit family in South Florida.

My dad owns and lives on a tropical plant nursery with his who-knows-what-mix Ollie and his Pomeranian mix Sadie.

Spartacus lived here with us the first year we had him and it's his favorite place in the world thanks to all the running, swimming, and sunbathing he gets to enjoy. Delilah thinks it's pretty cool too.

We wanted our dogs to relish in plenty of fun and relaxation, but in keeping with our goals, there was lots of training to work on too. Enter hide and seek.

One of our goals is to develop a bombproof recall with our dogs. In an attempt to make recall a fun command, we started playing hide and seek in our house in the last few weeks. Our dogs can't get enough. We put them in a stay, and one of us monitors them while the other goes to hide and call them over. We use "come" but there are plenty of words and noises you can use for recall instead. Once released, Spartacus is very enthusiastic darting from room to room sniffing out the air with intense focus. When one of them finds us, we throw a party with praise and high value treats and of course the other dogs get rewarded too once they arrive. We thought Sparty and Delilah were seasoned enough with the indoor version to take it out into the nursery. We hid behind trees, tractors, trucks, the stuff nurseries are made of.

Ollie caught on quickly and added even more pep and enthusiasm to the game.

Spartacus seems to use his nose in this game more than the others, so we think he'd be a good candidate for nose work sports eventually.

We did have some issues making this a three player game. Ollie is the world's most happy go lucky dog, but she lacks in training and became a bit greedy with the treats we were dishing out, scaring off our dogs from their reward. Overall, though, the game seems to have a really positive effect on our recall with the dogs. They are coming immediately when called about 80% of the time now, compared to about 50% a few weeks ago. Their recall is 100% for at least an hour after a hide and seek session. We try to always use a spirited happy voice to call them, which also has made a big difference. The best part of the game is how fun it is for us humans too. We feel like little kids again, giggling with our hands clasped over our mouths as our dogs run right past our hiding spot.

What kind of training games do you play with your dogs?

Safety First

We just returned home from a road trip to South Florida with the whole pack. Spartacus is a veteran of the 10 hour long drive from North Georgia to South Florida in our beat up 99 Jeep Cherokee. This was Delilah's second time making the roundtrip journey. The dogs and even our kitty (with a nice dose of Rescue Remedy) always seem very comfortable in the back of the Jeep with the seats down. This time, we used dog seat belts for extra security. 

This harness is designed to attach to an actual seat belt, but with the seats down, we just strung leashes through and hooked them up to some handles in the car. Restrained by six foot leashes, the dogs still had a lot of mobility to visit us up front, but they stayed put on their Molly Mutt bed for the most part. Despite the occassional tangling of leashes, the harnesses seemed really comfortable. In the event of an accident, we felt better knowing they were strapped in. We're grateful all our pets are good sports when it comes to long hauls cause we love to have them with us. Not to mention, boarding is difficult for them. Luckily it was smooth sailing there and back, and we'll be updating more details about our adventure later this week.

How do your dogs feel about long car rides? Any road trip cats?

A Funny Looking Dog

The other day we were out walking our pups and a young lady parked her car nearby. She got out of the car smiling and exclaimed "that's a funny looking dog!". There was no doubt she was referring to Delilah.

Besides her deceptively calm demeanor at the pound, Delilah's adorably odd features drew us to her. Her short legs are disproportionate to her toned muscular torso. She rivals Spartacus in length but is 1/3 his width. Her colors and markings are almost identical to Sparty's, but she's flanked with subtle merle spotting. She has a ridiculously long neck, and sports permanently oversized paws.

Delilah's giant ears take on a range of expressions that change her whole face instantly. 

Each ear is an individual, making decisions independent of the other.

Her lips are pursed and her amber eyes are determined. When she makes eye contact for treats we can practically hear her counting the seconds in her head. Her eye contact is intense!

Full grown at 35 lbs, we think Delilah is probably a Basenji mix. Maybe some Corgi or Daschund to account for her dwarfed legs. Maybe some Australian Cattle Dog, Jack Russell or Feist type dog. Her temperament matches the description of Basenjis to a T: alert, energetic, curious and reserved with strangers...has a strong prey drive...should not be let off the leash, for they are swift, agile chasers who are impossible to catch...will develop selective hearing if there's something more exciting to pay attention to (are there any dogs that don't fit that description?)...

Delilah compared to a purebred Basenji. See the resemblance?

Whatever this funny looking dog is, we couldn't be happier with our silly Delilah! Spartacus is our rugged handsome boy and Delilah is our delightfully bizarre little girl.

What breeds do you see? 

When Good Dogs Go Bad

If things were black and white, Spartacus would be labeled our bad dog and Delilah would earn the title for easy, good dog. Spartacus growls and lunges at passing dogs and scares the pants off their owners, while Delilah can be within inches of strange dogs on leash without paying them any mind. Spartacus is enrolled in Behavior Solutions ("bad dog" class), while Delilah is signed up for a Canine Good Citizen prep course. Indeed, Delilah is not leash reactive. She doesn't go berzerk on leash. We can take her places without worries. But let us be clear, grey areas abound.

Like the grey skies we faced this morning. We awoke to pouring rain and huge puddles barricading our driveway. Hooray! We thought. We might get a park all to ourselves!

Rain jacket on, I leashed up the dogs and drove off to one of our favorite places in Athens, Oconee Forest Park. Oconee Forest Park is a 60 acre natural area of winding trails and an off leash dog area, all within a well preserved 100 year old forest. The off leash area isn't really a dog park so much as a place to hike with your dog off leash. Spartacus has generally done pretty well here and keeps on moving after meeting other dogs, no wild play involved. When we pulled up to the parking lot, there was only one other car. As we headed out onto the trails, there were no signs of anyone else, human or canine. Having the park to ourselves was a welcome respite.

Delilah has only been with us since August of 2013 and she's estimated to be about 16 months old. She completed a Basic Obedience class but has yet to really master any commands. Of these basics, recall is the most difficult for her. She's an easily distracted dog whose greatest passion is galloping top speed deep into the forest, presumably chasing squirrels. While Spartacus never trots more than a few feet ahead of us on off leash hikes, Delilah takes off through the forest and disappears. She always comes back, but it's incredibly frustrating. Even when we get a perfect recall going in the house and in practice runs, it just doesn't work when we need it in real life situations.

Today, a solid recall would have done us good. The off leash area at the park is not fully fenced, and the existing fence and gate are insufficient for the likes of smaller dogs. So when a leashed dog was passing the fence, it was our "good" dog that slipped under the gate and charged it. The owners called out that their dog was socially iffy. Before I had time to think, I heard barking and growling from both Delilah and her new frenemy. I was still inside the fence, untangling leashes, worrying my "bad" dog would react.

"Delilah, come!"

A glimmer of hope - she started to trot back.

Then took off again. The leashed dog was with two owners, and one of them body blocked Delilah. She gave up and returned to the gate.

Spartacus, our bad boy, showed no signs of excitement. I put him in a sit stay unleashed, walked out the gate, and leashed up Delilah. Though no one was harmed, I felt terrible for causing any set backs for the other dog. As owners of a reactive dog, we advocate for dogs to be leashed if they don't have solid recall, and here our own Delilah broke the rules.

We've been so preoccupied with working on Spartacus' leash reactivity, we managed to look past some of the weaknesses in our communication with Delilah. Delilah isn't leash reactive, but she certainly requires more training before we can responsibly take her on off leash adventures.

Do you have a solid recall with your dog/s?
Does your easy dog occasionally give you grief?

Behavior Solutions Training Class, Week 6

Our regular Monday night Behavior Solutions training class was rescheduled to yesterday afternoon. Instead of meeting in a classroom setting, our reactive dogs took a field trip to the real world! We met in the condo community of one of the owners, hoping there would be lots of dogs out and about. Why did we remove the dogs from their safe zone at the training center? They're ready to be challenged by real life scenarios. 

Here's what we worked on:

Pass-bys

We had been practicing passing other dogs in our classroom since day one, but trying it in the great outdoors of a condo community changed things up. In class, we sit with our dogs and give them a constant stream of high value treats for paying attention to us. The atmosphere remains calm for the most part. Out and about, especially in a new place, our dogs are easily distracted by the new smells, sights, and sounds, and their attention is harder to come by.

Still, we all managed to do our walk-bys with no discernible incidents. After five weeks of respecting each other's boundaries in class, all the classmates seem very comfortable with each other and don't really trigger each other's reactivity at this point. Luckily, there were three extra dogs in the group today, Delilah included. Some random dogs being walked in the neighborhood also provided new stimulus.

We kept about 5-10 feet distance today in our pass-bys, and did whatever was necessary to redirect our dog's focus if they started targeting. Targeting refers to a dog starting to lock their focus on their trigger, in this case other dogs. You can tell Spartacus is targeting when he raises his ears forward, creating creases in his forehead. Also, if his mouth was open, he will close it. Sometimes his hackles will raise as well. I found that I sometimes need to step in front of him to regain his attention. Then I will walk backwards a few steps, while Sparty's eyes stay fixated on me. We can then resume a normal heel position and carry on with the "watch me" game.

Fence Fighting

The condo community had its own little dog park. It was empty, but the fenced in structure allowed us to work on issues around fences. Spartacus has really improved his behavior around fenced dogs in the last month. He's never been reactive to fenced dogs, but he used to pull us and become anxious when fenced dogs were barking and running the fence. We responded with lots of counter-conditioning in our neighborhood practicing sit stays and down stays with lots of treats next to fenced in dogs. Now, he is overall quite calm when he's on the outside of the fence. I can put him in a sit-stay half a foot from a fenced dog, and pet the dog on the other side while Sparty patiently waits.

Put him inside a fence, and it's a different story. At least in our own fenced yard, he can be very territorial. When we let him off leash by himself in the fenced dog park during class, he was more curious about the smells inside than the dogs passing the fence. However, once we added Delilah inside with him, their excitement grew and they started fence fighting the outside dogs. We quickly resolved this with simple body blocking. We've been working with body blocking in class to basically teach the concept "leave it". We literally just stand in front of our dogs in a strong stance and block them from whatever caught their interest. Our dogs respected our corrections and did not resist our body blocking by jumping up at us.

After our turn off leash in the park, we leashed up and exited, and two other siblings from the class went inside. One side of the little dog park is practically up against a wall of bushes, with only about a foot and a half of walkway space between the fence and the hedges. Several of the dogs in class reacted to the fenced in dogs when we squeezed through this narrow walk-way, including Spartacus. The great thing about being in a training class is we get to recreate scenarios that trigger our dogs until we get it right. Our second time around, I used body blocking to keep Spartacus' attention on me instead of the beagle behind the fence, just half a foot away. He didn't react and was thoroughly spoiled with hot dogs.

Hanging Out

The last portion of class was spent hanging out on a patch of grass while we asked our trainer questions. Two of the dogs who came from the same house were playing, and Sparty tried to be "referee". Sometimes when he sees two dogs playing, he barks like he's got to keep them in check. It's not an aggressive bark, but it's annoying and not what we asked of him. On the other hand, Delilah seems able to just zone out her surroundings and think about squirrels. She was a foot away from the playing dogs and couldn't care less. Sparty wasn't totally calm, but he wasn't aggressive either. Though he was barking a bit, it made me happy to see that he was laying on the ground with relaxed hips within feet of other dogs without responding aggressively. Still, he's got a little ways to go before he can mind his own business like his sister. 

When we spoke with our trainer after class, she seemed really pleased with our progress. She did suggest we keep the Gentle Leader head halter in our pocket, in case we want to try do-overs in public places on our own. We used the G.L. for a long time when we first started training Sparty to heel and anytime we were heading somewhere potentially crowded. For the purposes of his current training, the G.L. allows us to redirect Sparty's head, whereas our current training collar, a parachute cord slip, doesn't affect what direction he is looking in. Overall, I prefer that the slip collar forces us to try harder to get Spartacus' attention, but the Gentle Leader is always a great tool to have as back-up. 

Our last two classes will also be field trips. We love this class so much, and are so grateful we have such a creative trainer who really shapes each class based on the needs of the individual dogs. 

Have any of you taken training classes to work on behavior issues like reactivity?

Private Dog Park = Awesome!

As we mentioned in our last post, we are lucky to have a special resource for dogs in Athens, GA. The beautiful Sandy Creek Park offers three private fully fenced in 2-3 acre dog parks you can reserve by the hour, for only $1 per dog per hour. 

We aren't sworn off regular dog parks, but when we go, we have to be extra vigilant and it's not exactly relaxing for us owners. Spartacus is of course our high maintenance mutt, and we started this blog to track our progress teaching him to just chill out. From the sound of it though, dog parks can be stressful for plenty of perfectly balanced dogs and their owners too. A lot can go wrong when you enclose a bunch of strange dogs together, especially when the people overseeing them have different opinions about what is acceptable behavior. Yet we all want our dogs to get the experience of running around free, and that's where Sandy Creek Park comes in.

You simply call ahead and reserve a time, stop by the main park entrance to pay and pick up your key, and pull up to your own private dog park. Each park is fully fenced and provides dog waste bags, a garbage can, and a bowl of fresh water. For safety, it's required your dogs are leashed until you close your gate behind you. Close the gate, and it's a total free for all! 

Earlier today we took Sparty on a training walk around the neighborhood to continue working on the "watch me" command around passing dogs. He was good two out of four times, and when he reacted, we got him to subside quickly. He's been working really hard lately, and we wanted to make sure he got some plain old fun in today too. At noon we headed to Sandy Creek. We rented Dog Park #3, our personal favorite. Two large grassy fields are divided by a strip of forest with a trail running through it. The 3 acre park extends far beyond what our camera lens can capture. Not bad for two dollars!

The passion these two have for tennis balls is unequivocal. With the aid of our Chuck-It ball launcher, we cover a lot of ground. Delilah has quite the stride for a low-rider. She is faster than Spartacus.

But Sparty still wins most of the time using brute force to knock Delilah over. We prefer Delilah to win because she actually returns the ball, whereas Sparty turns it into a game of keep-away.

We've mentioned that Spartacus has a crazy "in your face" playing style that can scare other dogs and dog owners. Luckily, our Delilah embraces it full force. 

And if you're paying attention, you'll see that Spartacus willingly rolls over to a submissive position, laying on his back with his belly fully exposed. That's how we know their play is fun and fair, and we don't have to referee.

In an hour, there's plenty of time for both play and relaxation. Sometimes we rent the park for longer. We've even brought our art supplies and done plein-air painting sessions for up to three hours here. The private parks are also great for birthday parties.

We can't imagine life without this amazing resource now that we have it, but we're probably moving far away to the midwest this summer. So far we haven't been able to track down anything similar.

Do you know of any private dog parks or similar set-ups? 

Does your dog's play style require extra monitoring?

Snow Day Bliss

This was a fun week to be in Athens, GA. The whole city basically shut down in lieu of the traffic issues across the Southeast earlier this year. We've had snow days off from work most of the week, even though the temperature hasn't dipped below 27 degrees during the day. It's just silly, considering one of us is from Wisconsin where the temperatures have been below zero most of 2014. But hey, we're not complaining!

Yesterday was beautiful and sunny, families were out sledding down the streets, and we took the dogs on a long walk in their matching Ruffwear Climate Changer fleece jackets. These super warm dog coats aren't the best for snow since they aren't waterproof, but we don't have anything else and our short-coated pups start to shiver once the temps reach the 30s. 

We wandered around town and ended up at a local park. Seeing at it wasn't in use, the completely fenced in snowy basketball court became our own private dog park. We probably broke some laws closing the gate and letting madness ensue, but it was pure fun and no harm came of it!

There's nothing quite like watching dogs get to run free. I wholeheartedly believe that leashed walks and runs are very satisfying too, but it's really something to let their wild sides take over. For most of us, off leash freedom means heading to a dog park, but with Spartacus' issues, we are reluctant. His true reactivity is limited to being on leash, but he still has a dominant streak and is what our local doggy daycare calls "a doggy nerd", meaning he doesn't quite read social cues correctly. It's also because the boxer in him loves to throw punches and wrestle. His playing style scares off many dogs and can lead to fights when Sparty just isn't receptive to their grievances. We've had some great times at less busy hours, and Athens has some wonderful dog parks with trails where he really excels. He gets the most overwhelmed in the type of dog park where all the owners sit down and all the dogs are supposed to play in a central area. When we head to public dog parks, we are extra vigilant and often have to correct Sparty for mounting. Dog mounting in parks is a controversial subject. We've found a 3 strikes you're out program normally calms him down. If he's not responsive to corrections, we either leave or leash him up and walk the perimeter while Delilah plays on.

Incredibly, one park in Athens actually offers private dog parks that you can rent by the hour, for just one dollar per dog. These completely fenced in lots range from 2-3 acres of beautiful grassy and wooded sections. Sparty and Delilah have private parties there at least every weekend, but with the roads covered in ice and snow, this basketball court makeshift dog park was the only place accessible by foot. 

It didn't take long for their coats to get soaked, not that they noticed.

We really lucked out with Delilah as she adapted instantly to Sparty's roughhousing, and he truly is her favorite dog to play with now. She gets along with everyone, but the peak of her happiness is reached going nuts with her big brother. As soon as we close the gate to any park we visit, these two immediately take off tackling each other. We wouldn't condone their disorderly play with stranger dogs, but since these two trust each other completely, there's no harm in letting them play to their heart's content.

About half an hour of insanity can really knock these two out for the rest of the day. We knew they were ready to head home when Delilah started looking cold, and Sparty's efforts were focused on lapping up melting ice. 

The rest of the day was spent like this.

How do you feel about dog parks?

Are your dogs fans of the snow?

Introducing Delilah

We weren't actively looking for another dog in August 2013. We had our hands full with Spartacus, and our lease stipulated only one dog allowed. But I work on the computer which gets very boring, so I'm known to meander through the local pound's website occasionally. I'll send links to my partner just to entertain the idea, but we both know it's never serious.

Well, one fateful August afternoon, I stumbled upon the profile of a pup named Molly.

Here is the description the volunteer wrote:

"Molly - An absolute gem of a dog, sweet, calm, and submissive! ...Even though it’s clear she’s a little bit nervous in her new environment, she still was one of the most polite and well-behaved dogs I have ever met. ...didn’t bark, jump, or become overly excited at any point, and loved to just sit right by my side. She was as calm and as sweet as could be. With her low energy and calm nature, Molly would be a GREAT fit for a family or a person looking for a dog who has grown out of their wild puppy age, but is still young enough to keep pace with you..."

Suffice to say, we reasoned that Molly would be such an easy dog, she wouldn't add extra work and could even have a calming effect on Spartacus. Sparty is reactive to dogs when he's on leash. Off leash he's made plenty of dog friends, though his play style is kinda nuts and a less dominant disposition makes an ideal playmate. We decided to visit this gem of a dog at the pound, and she was indeed very shy and barely moved. Though she was clearly nervous, there was tenderness and warmth underneath. Sparty likes to love people hard and it's been a challenge to get him to quit giving "hugs", so we welcomed Molly's reserved nature. Plus, her funny proportions and expressive ears were utterly irresistible. 

Yes, that is my partner kissing her through the fencing at the pound on our way out.

Our landlord is a big softie who fosters dogs year round. He couldn't say no to us rescuing this shy beauty from possible death at the pound. We met her on a Sunday and she came home with us the following Thursday with her new name, Delilah.

The dogs were introduced on a walk around the block together. Delilah was guarded as she just came from her spay procedure, while Sparty expressed only healthy curiosity and welcomed her right away. She growled when he got too close to her belly area, and he respected her space with no qualms.

When Delilah finally recovered from a complication in her spay procedure, we let the dogs really get to know each other. They've been inseparable ever since.

And it turned out Delilah is quite the ball of energy once she's come out of her shell. 

She also weighs almost double what the pound listed, at about 35 lbs. The perfect size to go wild with her big brother.