I came home to an incredible mess. Cranky's drawings torn off the wall, poop in the pen, especially on the spots of exposed carpet--never on the plastic. Flies in the house.
When I'm outside, Stupid follows me around but only behind my back. If I make the mistake of looking at her she panics.
She's had maybe a half cup of food since I got here, and now there's a tasty morsel of kibble mixed with chicken sitting three yards in front of her. I know she can smell it, but she won't come out of her corner to taste it--that would put her in my field of vision. I'm going to wait a half hour and then move it a little closer to her.
I'm smarter than a dog! Aren't I?
---- Day 1 --------------------------
Issy (isn't that a hideous name?) came out of the cage when I was in the room.
Yeah! When I looked at her she went back in. (How the heck am I supposed to avoid eye contact? I have to look at her to toss in treats!)
It's been an hour now and she hasn't come out of her corner. Sigh.
She was growling at me this morning, when I picked her up to put her out for the second time. Bad situation--for both of us--and I haven't any reason to believe she did any pooping out here. It was all there inside her cage for me to scrape out.
So I'm going back to the basic first step--come. Not necessarily on command, Come! More basically, she just needs to learn to come toward me instead of shrinking away from me. The dog training hints online were almost identical to those in clicker training--wait until the desired behavior occurs and treat.
Sounds reasonable, but how to get past the trauma of this morning?
So this week's lesson is set...but right now, I don't see how it's ever going to happen. I got to go inside her cage to clean it! Am I supposed to get Egar to do that?
The neighbor's kennel cleaning jobs are over, Thank The Lady. I hope he is indeed taking them to a better place.
One site says this:
If your dog is so extremely shy he won't let you or anyone in your family pet him, begin by giving him a quick pat on the head as you walk through the house. This unexpected action will catch him off guard, and he will learn, through repetition, that nothing bad will happen to him as a result.
Your first goal is to make him trust you. One owner purchased a pound of chicken livers, cooked them and then laid down on the floor with some chicken livers on her body and the rest trailing away at approximately five feet. She spoke to her dog softly, but laid still, avoiding eye contact. When he had eaten them all, she patted him enthusiastically on his sides saying what a good boy he had been. Your dog may run away at this point, but this is a trust building exercise.
Avoiding eye contact and patting a dog on his sides or stroking his neck and chest are non-threatening gestures which will help to build trust.
On a lighter note, my menu for next week is Dave Lieberman's Clam chowder, pan toasted croutons, salmon patties, and tropical chef salad. Sounds like fun, doesn't it?
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