Day 60 of Dog - zippy-de-do-dah

She actually sat, on her own, on the front porch. Unfortunately I didn't notice it when it happened so the reward wasn't on time, so it was mostly a wasted session.
Last night, after getting home at eight I had to hurry supper. I put them outside from 9:00 to 10:30 and when I brought her in, I tried the experiment of leaving the cage door open overnight.

Wrong. Not only were there two doos and a dee in the entry but also--

I stepped in it.

Day 59 of Dog

The usual training today. I made her jog down the driveway. She lagged a good bit but kept up, so that was progress.

Absolutely no progress on Come or Sit and especially no progress on the automatic sit when on a leash. I really ought to check the training guide.

Day 58 of Dog

A normal day at home for her. For me, it was an especially long training session including sit. She's not getting it yet but I'll keep at it. It takes about five minutes of standing for her to get bored enough to sit down on her own. When that happens--reward!

A couple of times I got bored and forced her to sit. But I don't think it helped one whit. Being forced to have your legs bent and your behind forced down is not the same as doing it on your own accord.

Day 57 of Dog

This is the second landmark occasion of our dog-owner association. When I went to pick her up, when she saw me, and smelled me--

Tail wag.

The first time I've ever seen her tail wag. And it was for me.

Day 57 of Dog

No dogs.

Day 54 of Dog

Wish the kennel had a web cam.

Day 53 of Dog

Who knows? She's in doggie boarding school!
I miss her.

Day 52 of Dog

Going to doggie boarding school. We'll see

Day 51 of Dog

She did pretty good at the vet's office. I'm not saying she walked the whole way on her own steam, but she walked a good bit. In the sixty minutes of our wait, we walked up and down the waiting room three or four times.

Day 50 of Dog

No vet trip, of course, but she did get a pretty good walk. Just the usual--up and down the driveway. She pooped on the kitchen floor last night but that was because I was out at Guitar Center until all hours and then I forgot to close the cage door.

Day 48 of Dog

No walk today--rain. Better luck tomorrow.

I really think she likes me now. She perks up at the sound of my voice; she tolerates the pill and the ear medicine pretty well. The only thing lacking is the come.

Day 47 of Dog

Nice walk today. She still strongly resists walking into the house, even a house that IS completely quiet. I don't know why. Once back outside, I tried to get her to jog a little but it wasn't super successful.

Day 46 of Dog

On our walk today, the neighbor dog came up and wanted to sniff. It's a really mild-mannered dog but NoName wanted no part of it. She tried to run; tried to get out of her harness; and didn't settle down for five minutes after we walked away.

She tends to lag a little behind when we're walking--I need to work on that.

Needless to say with the schedule being so weird, she's worn out and sleeping now and I don't think she's going to want any supper. I may let her skip it. She can have extra in the morning.

Day 45 of Dog

What the hell! Poop on the floor--outside the cage--this morning. Poop in the dining room this afternoon. How long was she inside???? It was a beautiful sunny day all day and....

Oh. I can guess. When I left this morning, I left her cage open and asked Hew to put her outside when she'd finished eating. He probably sat outside smoking and playing games until noon--she probably did her poop in the morning and it's been sitting here in the dining room ever since.

Day 44 of Dog

On account of all that monkeying around with the schedule yesterday, she pooped on the floor today. Not a lot, but enough so that both my brother and I stepped in it. He--at least--had shoes on.

She pooped outside of her cage, in the pantry and you know? I think that's a good thing. Maybe she really, really doesn't like poop in the cage. But that gives me a dilemma for tonight--close the door or leave it open? I'd rather clean up poop inside the cage than out, but I don't want to encourage the habit of pooping inside the cage.

I guess...leave it open. It rained again today and so she didn't get to stay out very long so I'm really asking for trouble.....

So be it.

By the way, I just love it how she doesn't cower in her little niche anymore. Except when people address her--she still cowers then--but right now she's sleeping and she's right out in the front of the cage where I can practically touch her.
Not that I would--this is progress and I don't want to cause regress.

Day 43 of Dog

She finally ate breakfast sometime this afternoon. Now the thunderstorm (alleged thunderstorm) is making me move her suppertime back a bit. I want her to have a good two hours outdoors after she eats.

So where's the stupid thunderstorm?

Day 42 of Dog

No breakfast for my poor angel! And a murder of a trip to the vet--she got in the car by herself and traveled very well. But the vet's office was full of cats and people and small dogs and ugh! She didn't freak but I had to carry her practically everywhere.

Day 41 of Dog

Since I got home early, all three of them got a nice long walk. A few hitches when the little dog kept ignoring my commands, but progressive.

Tomorrow will the dreaded Day--back to the vet for you-know-what. Poor baby!

Day 39 of Dog

She kissed me today!

Day 38 of Dog

Izzy did so well walking on the leash today that I decided to double it up. I walked her a second time, taking the big dog on the right hand and letting the little dog run loose. We made the driveway trip in double time.

She does tend to lag a bit--when I get time to research I'll see what I'm supposed to do to correct that.

Day 37 of Dog

I emailed three pet boarding kennels today and got answers from two of them. One was a "no", one was a "no answer", but the other was a "yes; call me." So I did--twice. And I left a message and I sent a follow-up email. And I've heard nothing.

She probably goofed when she said yes and is now embarrassed to call me back.
My little NoName 'heeled' (sort-of) all the way to the end of the driveway, a little up the street, back and into the house and up to the front door. Either she's exceptionally smart or else she learned a little of this leash-walking thing sometime before.

....
Found a boarding kennel!

Day 36 of Dog

No more issues yesterday. Today I put her little harness on her and 'heeled' her all the way up the driveway and back. It took a while--she kept stopping to look around--but we made it! All the way--okay, we're talking 100 yards or so--but, all the way!

We'll go farther tomorrow...I think. I think...I just volunteered to listen to Cranky's band concert from seven until whenever. Do I really want to come home, walk the dog, then get back in the car to go listen to a band concert?

Damn!

Day 35 of Dog

OMG. I took her to the vet this morning to get her shots. Then she had to spend more than half of the afternoon inside on account of the cold, and when I arrived home from work--

Sick dog. Two pools of diarrhea and a swamp of sick.

I'm almost scared to feed her supper.

Day 34 of Dog

When I put her out this morning it was about 36 degrees. As long as she stays active the temperature is bearable. Tomorrow it'll be colder but, at least, there won't be rain. Hew was supposed to bring her in at about 10 a.m. and I hope he did. Even if it means poop in the morning--better warm poop than frozen dog.

Day 33 of Dog

Rain. Cold. This is going to be the hardest month of having this dog. She doesn't seem to understand going into the doghouse to get out of the rain, which is not surprising seeing as how the cage she spent most of her life in didn't have a doghouse. Nor did it have rain.

It was forty degrees outside this morning when I got up the second time, so I let her in. (The first time was at seven, as my habit: I feed them and then put them out.) I'm going to do the dreaded vet visit on Tuesday and then move my schedule back a half-hour. That should allow me to have her outside a shorter time before breakfast, the coldest time of the day.

It was so cold for our lesson today I took her around inside the house and then went out on the front porch. I couldn't get her off the porch, but at least we have a new place under our belt.

Day 32 of Dog

Turned out bad--we missed our afternoon lesson. Now it's raining and I don't want to train her in the rain. The kids are watching TV in the living room, so if I tried to train her inside it would annoy the heck out of them and probably not teach her anything useful.

I'll try to think of something else to do that will advance her training--like maybe feed her and sit close by while she eats.
\

Day 31 of Dog

Just did our lesson of heeling to the front door and back. We made it this time, although not without a little pickup at the start. (Me picking her up) A couple more rep's with no one in the house should get it.

I was feeling really discouraged until I realized that 31 days ago she wouldn't even eat from my hand!

Day 30 of Dog

I tried to heel to the front door today. People were all over the place--just Egar and Hew--but still it was so incredibly distracting I gave up. We worked the exercise of going down the back steps again and it wasn't all that easy. We got through it.
I don't know what I'm going to do during holiday.

Day 29 of Dog

Walked to the front door again today, but I can't say it was easy. I had to wait until everyone was out of the house first.

Day 28 of Dog

I tried to do the 'heel' exercise in the house today, but the TV was on and both Hew and Egar were eating, so she refused to come out of the kitchen. When I carried her and set her down, she always ducked back. Rather than induce a major panic, I let her off. Maybe tomorrow there won't be anything on TV.

It's so blasted cold that I hate the idea of taking her on vacation almost as much as I hate the idea of boarding her. But I've got to do something. Now!

Day 27 of Dog

Obviously I can't do my training session in the afternoon anymore--no more vacation--and obviously I can't fill her up on cheese sticks before supper, so I'm going to try after supper. I got home at 6:20; fed her at 6:30; but she didn't start eating until 6:45. Change of routine, I guess.

On a personal note, I might as well move the entire collection of my shoes from the closet to the garage. One pair after another succumbs to dog doo. Of course I didn't think to change shoes before we started our training session--and now my black boots have joined my running shoes and my brown boots in exile--in the garage beside the washing machine. If I get home before dark tomorrow I'll take a hose to them in the front yard.

Other than the shoe incident, the training session went well. Today we practiced coming down off the top step. Three times. Without me carrrying her.

Yay.

Day 26 of Dog

Progress, I hope. The house was completely quiet when I finally got ready to work with her. Cranky has holed up in her room--she doesn't come out as much when Hew and Egar are here--some sort of conflict about TV channel selection and who gets to make the most noise.

So anyway, after a walk around the yard we came inside. The other dogs kept getting in the way but I think they made her a little bolder, somehow--especially the little one. We "walked" to the front door and back. I'm not saying I didn't have to pick her up for some of the steps, but it wasn't for all of the steps. Hurray!

Day 25 of Dog

I tried again to bring her in the house and it was a royal fail. I don't know how to get her out of that back yard. If I take her through the gate, her little pea brain might start to think it's okay to go through the gate. But when I try to take her through the house, she freaks and won't move.

Day 24 of Dog

Today during our leash training I tried to bring her inside for a change...but that didn't work. She was too scared to move. So we went back out and did a second round of "heel" around the yard. That went well, I think.

Day 22 of Dog

Same routine as yesterday; maybe a little longer. I tried to put the harness on her but couldn't figure out how. Not wanting to stress her out too much, I gave up and tried it on Zack later. I think I've got it figured out.

The only progress I saw was maybe just a little bit less pulling and backing away from me. Maybe she's starting to get it.

Day 21 of Dog

Bad, bad, bad. Thunder and rain last night made me let her in early, so when I arose today I had to clean two big piles.

Then I accidentally let her sneak in the back door while the big dog was coming in, so it took a while to maneuver her back outside for training. She made it on her own four legs, though.

The walk on leash training didn't go too great. No better; no worse than yesterday. She didn't get loose, but she kept backing away.

During our major shopping excursion Cranky and I bought a dog harness.

Day 20 of Dog

I don't know whether today's training session represented a minor advance or a minor setback. I did learn one thing--before I take her out of the yard, I need to buy or improvise a harness.

First I tried to train while the other dogs were in the yard and that didn't work. They kept horning in, trying to get their share of the cheese.

So I put them inside and started over. I had to carry her off the steps--again--and then we started the routine. I'd take a step forward; show her the cheese at my left side; wait thirty seconds; lift her under the chest and carry-walk her forward; give her the cheese. After a couple of rounds she started to walk forward by herself, so I advanced to two and even three steps at a time.

Then I made the mistake of trying to teach two lessons at once. Instead of remaining at the half-crouch which puts my face near level with hers, I decided to stand up straight when I took the next steps. She panicked; twisted; darn near rolled and managed to get the collar over her head.

So we went back to the back steps and I tried to tighten the collar but I just couldn't make it any tighter and have her still able to breathe. She's got an awfully small head.

After that we repeated the lesson. I still had to carry her off the steps but she did the rest of the walking by herself.

I knew this was going to take a long time so I'm refusing to be discouraged. It's only the second session. Maybe tonight when I bring her in I'll start on the "come to me to get goodies" lesson.

Day 19 of Dog

This morning cleaned a large pile of poop--fresh and warm. I brought her in at nine-thirty last night, so she managed ten hours. A bit long to hold onto that much poop. I fed them last night at six-thrity...hmmm... I have the luxury this week of feeding her a little earlier but not too much or that will be a big schedule change when I go back to work.

We started our leash training today. Starting with heel, not come--I hope the experts don't object to that. I have to get her walking on a leash before I can board her at the vet's.

So for a half hour, that's what we did. I tried to get her to come down off the steps, but my patience gave out and I just carried her. Then, it was like this: take a step forward and hold the cheese at my left side. Wait. After a minute, pick her up and move her forward. Reward her. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat.

A couple of times she stepped forward on her own accord---only a couple of times--but she got an especial treat for that.

We'll do it all over again tomorrow.

Day 18 of Dog

I noticed she'd really torn up the chicken wire attached to the back gate. I think Hew had put in on there many years ago to deter a fence-climbing dog we used to have. So it was still there, but now it's torn half off and menacing the public.

So that's my job for tomorrow--get wire cutters out there and eliminate that hazard.

Day 17 of Dog

Poop again this morning--what's the deal? Just a neat little patty--nothing to complain about--but why poop at all? I think in a week or two I'm going to have to crate her.

But now I have a whole week of vacation when we can start The Leash Thing. I ought to read up a little before I start.

Day 16 of Dog

Same as usual except she's a lot more ready to go outside when I cue her. She's really a smart dog. In a way she deserves better than me--she's smart enough to be a seeing eye dog but I don't know how to find the time to consistently train her. Plus I, being human, have a tendency to use different words, inflections, gestures, and whatever--to mean the same thing. One day I might say, "Izzy, let's go outside." Another day, "Outside, girl."

How's a non-English speaker supposed to figure that one out?

Day 15 of Dog

The to-do list for my vacation is growing out of control--but way at the top of it has to be--get her out on a leash! She's got to be leash trained so I can board her during the holidays.

Just a tidbit of poop today. It didn't look like she'd eaten it; rather, it just looked like she only had a little to lose. Good, good, good.

Day 15 of Dog

Okay; yeah; I cleaned a tiny pile of poop out of the cage this morning. But she went outside by herself, on request! That is an amazing achievement! Good dog!

Day 15 of Dog

Poop again this morning! What's the deal?

To compound the dog error, we have a little human error to overcome. This morning when it was time to put her out, I forgot to open the back door before calling her. So she went to the door, found it closed, about-faced and went back into the corner of her cage.

I had to carry-walk her again.

Day 13 of Dog

Not much to say, except she went outside a little more willingly today. I only had to carry her to the pantry doorway. She spent most of the day outside (still poop-free inside but don't count your chickens). I'll feed her in a bit and put her out again.

I noticed she'd been scratching at the chicken wire we'd put on the gate. I hope that's just coincidence, but just in case I put an extra wire on the gate. It looked like it would open from a strong push, but now it's secure.

Learning to walk on a leash is a lesson we need to start, but I'm considering putting that off just one more week. For my convenience, not hers.

Day 12 of Dog

Again this morning it looked like she'd pooped in the cage and then eaten her poop. I don't think it's a healthy thing, but since she ate all of her food I'm not going to get upset about it just yet.

I think animal behaviorists are being anamorphic when they suggest that mother wolves will often ingest their puppies poop to "keep the den clean." More likely it's because it tastes good.

NoName is still too fearful of me to do much training, but I'm hopeful for the weekend. She definitely responds to string cheese--if--by the application of string cheese and a whole lot of patience--I could just get two steps on a leash--

I'd be thrilled.

Day 11 of Dog - catching on?

Some progress. Nowadays when I carry her to the back door, once we're inside the pantry I open the door and she walks herself outside. She gets plenty of treats for that, of course.

Man--she barks a lot when she's out there. It's annoying as heck but at the same time, good to hear it. She's not cowering in a corner, that's for sure.

Hew left her out all day today, which kind of sucks. Plus he left the little tyke outside, too. It won't hurt him, but it's not what he's accustomed to. I hope they really did play a little bit.

Day 10 of Dog - home alone outside

I'm told she spent almost all day outside today and was even reported to have been playing with the other dogs, or at least the smallish one. I guess that means she'll be left outside all day from now on...I hope she'll be okay. I hope she learns to go inside a doghouse in case of rain.

This morning there was only a small spot of poop in the cage, and this afternoon, neither plop nor plat. But as I said, she was probably left outside all day.

Day 9 of Dog - regression and all my fault

Back to the poop, but not nearly as much of it. I cleaned a small patty this morning and again this evening.

I messed up a little myself--you're not supposed to reprove a timid dog, but today, right after she ate, I caught a glimpse of her out of the corner of my eye and I thought she was squatting. On second thought she may have just been getting ready to get a drink--but I overreacted. I jumped up and said No--not loud--but loud enough to scare her.

The rest of the evening went as normal and no rain tonight, thank heavens. She's outside now for her required one hour after dinner. I may stretch it to an hour and a half. She keeps barking, isn’t' that strange? And when I look out to see what's she's barking at, her head is directed toward the house.

I can only postulate she's barking at the sound of our voices. Just now when I noticed her barking, it so happens that Cranky was standing by the window talking.
I was talking to her outside just now and realized something. She’ll never see her mother again...just like me.

The breeder was explaining to me that her mother had rejected her after she (the mother) had her second litter of puppies. When he let them both outside together, little No-Name would run to her mother and try to be friends, but her mother would growl at her. I saw it myself.

So the best I can do is be a surrogate mother to her. Poor little girl--forced to grow up too fast; be a mother when she still wanted to be a puppy herself.

We'll see if those sentimental feelings make it any easier to clean up poop twice a day.

Day 8 of Dog - finally!

I got up this morning and...

Didn't have to clean poop!

Did I say that right?

No Poop!

Okay, so now I've jinxed myself. I fed her, put her out--carried her out, basically--and left her outside for the half hour it takes me to get ready. Then back in the cage and guess what?

When I got home after work, early at about six--I--

Didn't have to clean poop!

I don't expect this miracle tomorrow because when I put her out tonight it started raining after 45 minutes and she seemed terrified of the rain. Well, maybe not terrified--but very, very anxious about it. I sat on the steps with her for ten minutes or so and it didn't stop, so I brought her in.

If I'd waited just five minutes longer it would have stopped, but I didn't know that so I guess I'll leave it. Maybe.

The other variable in the equation is the amount of time I waited after feeding her and putting her out. This time it was immediately--yesterday it was probably a half-hour; I didn't note it down. I pretty much need it to be immediately on account of my morning schedule.

So, I'll see if this works tomorrow. Get up at 7:20. Clean cage if needed. Feed dog. Doze on couch while she eats. Put dog out. Get dressed for work. Bring dog in. Go to work.

The bad news is, rain is forecasted for tomorrow morning again. But I'm not going to worry about that now--since when did Texas weather forecasters get anything right?

Day 7 of Dog

She spent a few hours outside today (I had to carry her), then went out again after supper. I doubt if she pooped outside at all, but maybe (oh, maybe!) she peed a little.

I can't tell that she's trying to get out of the fence at all, so I'll repeat the regimen tomorrow--feed early then put outside for an hour. It will be a lot later, of course.

Day 6 of Dog - and major progress, I think.

I had her outside for hours today. I had to carry her out, it's true, but once out there, she seemed to enjoy herself. The fits of the trembles only lasted a few minutes, at first--but then Egar got out there with the riding lawnmower and I got out picking up sticks before he could tear up the lawnmower blades crunching up the sticks, and Dog came out and ran around. I almost thought she went toward the lawnmower a couple of times.

So then I cut down trees and weeds in the mess beside the backyard fence. It has been ignored for years--don't ask why--and there's a goodly sized scrub oak tree growing up there and about a million sturdy ragweeds. I excavated, cut and mowed until I exposed a bunch of old lumber that had been laying on the ground for four or five years. I picked that up and advanced, finding a whole slew of plant pots, and that was a find! There were some perfectly sized pots and three holders I'd saved from purchases at the store. If I decide to start plants indoors this winter they'll be perfect.

Speaking of gardening--I walked out to the garden for some reason or other and discovered that all the ground I'd tilled last month was covered with some sort of little annual weed. It's only a couple of inches tall and will die out when it frosts, but still! It looks like I never did anything!

Day 5 of Dog

I realized on the interminable drive in to work this morning that I've been doing mornings all wrong. She needs to be eating while I'm cleaning her cage. While I'm nearby and moving around.

Day 4 of Dog - get out of this cage

I put her food dish even closer to my seat today and she ate pretty well. At first it was: grab a bite; go back in the corner; eat it; grab a bite;.... But as the meal advanced she just stood pat. When she'd finished most of the food, I moved it a foot closer to my chair and put nibbles of cheese in it. She ate that, too.

Plus I found two cinder blocks out in the field and brought them in to anchor the gates around her cage--she won't be getting out as easily tonight.  In case you didn't get this, what I call a "cage" is just a corner of my dining room with a piece of plywood blocking one side and two gateway from a chain-link fence blocking the front.  I close it up at night but leave it open during the day.

Day 3 of Dog - and counting

After the stress of the morning mess, the evening mess wasn't nearly so bad. I'm sure it'll be worse tomorrow.

Both times NoName got out and pooped a little in the dining room. But she always seems to pee in her cage...odd. It's mostly cleaned up now, but I'm beginning to despair of ever getting rid of the smell.

Tonight I've got a little line of kibble running from her cage--where she's holed up in a corner--to the bowl of food, placed near my table where I can watch her out of the corner of my eye but (hopefully) avoid eye contact. It's 7:30 pm and the bowl of food has been setting there about ten minutes so far.

Counting down.

Days 1&2 of Dog Rehabilitation

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?