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| Jack still wants nothing more than to be close to me. |
Ronda dropped him off and I brought him into the house. He was resistant at being left and even put his feet on me to say he wasn't happy with my dragging him into the house. I stopped, reassured him that he was staying today and led him in. Within two minutes of getting into my house he peed on Max's bed, moved over and finished his peeing by the treadmill and then left the room and pooped in the living room. I started my day with bodily fluids and waste!
This tells me that tomorrow when Ronda gives me his leash we'll watch her leave and dally long enough for him to eliminate on lead outside. I was not angry with him, just concerned I am setting him up to fail by not heeding his stress at being left each morning. In time he'll accept the routine and be able to separate from Ronda without issue, but right now she's his anchor in this crazy and strange world where gravity is out of sync with what he had known.
Since Saturday he had hardly eaten and I knew he had to be starving, so when I got out everyone's bowls and started the morning routine of feeding the crew I wasn't surprised by the constant nose invading my space as he snuffed up the scents of his morning meal.
I worked with him in very short experiments on how what I could do to train him and where he was and needed to start at. Some dogs need to start with Target to build confidence while others need Zen to curb excitement. I worked a bit of Target with him and he was soft and tentative with his touches, but willing to try to earn food. I then worked on luring a sit and found he quickly became bored. It was after he had his nose in everything - Emma's food as I handed it to her, taking Emma's harness off of the kitchen counter and poking his nose in cabinets and cupboards that I decided he needed to start with Zen.
He's enjoyed a rousing game of play with Emma and tried to eat my recliner when bored and even chewed on the tires of my wheelchair. He knocked things off of my end table and played with toys in the house and tried to engage my IPad when I first started working. He's finally tired enough he is napping with the rest of the household, but I can see a lot of work needs to be done to bring him into the game and teach him proper manners in a house.
One note: I use the front bathroom for storage and for a bathroom. Since I have my crockpots and pans in the bathroom I have hung a tug on the door so Max could open it for me when needed. When I go in, Max tugs the door open and comes in to visit me. Emma today used her paws to open the door and enter and after a single episode of Max tugging to come into the bathroom, I heard Jack at the door exploring and trying to tug the door open. Amazingly smart boy!
Today's Lessons:
Zen
Jack is working on Level 1: Step 1 Zen. In this step Jack is to pull his nose away from the treat in my hand to get it. He spent a lot of time licking and working my hand, without injuring me, to get the treat. This is good, his mind was working overtime to solve the problem. Once his nose moved from my hand I clicked and dropped the treat. Jack figured out what I was doing after 10 repeats and then walked away. He tends to dis-engage when bored.
Target
Jack is working on Level 1: Step 1 Target. In this step Jack is asked to touch my hand with his nose. When I held my hand out Jack very softly, almost brushing my hand, touched it. After a few clicks Jack understood the goal was to touch my hand and started to offer more solid contact. Jack will need more experience with this step before we move to the next stage.
Sit
Jack is working on Level 1: Step 1 Sit. In this step Jack is asked to sit on when cued with a hand signal. I lured Jack a couple of times into a sit, but he was bored with the lesson and quickly dis-engaged. We will continue to work on this step.
The Name Game
Jack had his name changed to Jack on Monday, so he is unaware that is his name currently. In order to have him respond to his name we are playing the name game with him. I spent the day randomly saying his name and giving him a kibble. He was soon looking to me when I said his name.
I also sang a silly song to him using his name, "Jack, Jack your all black. Jack, Jack got my back." He would wag his tail when I sang, which means he's tone deaf, and I would stuff a treat in his mouth each time I said his name.
He still doesn't know his name, but with a regular repetition of his name and praise, food and play associated with it he will soon recognize that word means pay attention and start to respond to it.
Field Trip
Tonight Ronda and I took Jack to Petsmart to buy him some chew toys. He's bringing in his first year molars and I mentioned he would need some serious chew toys of she would have no furniture after his raids on both my recliner and wheelchair and then the TV tray table by my chair.
When we first picked him up we had to do several attempts to get him to step into the van, tonight he just climbed in. He is growing comfortable with traveling in a vehicle and no longer battles entry when we go to take him somewhere. He also, for the most part, rides well with Max in my van.
When we arrived at Petsmart he jumped to the front seat to follow Ronda out. We both made note that he needs to learn safe car practices and will work on those.
He had a bit of trouble entering the store. After getting through the first sliding doors he stopped at the second set and planted his feet. Ronda gently encouraged him to enter just as hound came up and became a bit to friendly with him, which made him back up a bit more. Ronda gently encouraged him again and he stepped through the doors onto the white tiles. I don't think it was the doors as much as the floor change that spooked him, but once in he recovered and was fine.
He enjoyed exploring the store, though at first he was stressed and nervous. He recovered quickly and became curious about what we were doing. We stayed long enough to pick out some toys, a new brush, new bowls and a couple of other items she needed for him and then left - in all we spent about 15 to 20 minutes in the store.
Ronda noted a yawn at the end of our stay while we were in check out. We both agreed he was tired and ready to process what had just happened. At the check out he was offered a treat by the clerk, which he took and ate. A good sign he wasn't overly stressed by his experience.
He readily got into the van and I offered him and Max a rawhide chew I had purchased while inside. Everything was fine between them until we stopped at Rite Aid. As I was driving through the parking lot Jack began growling and telling Max to stop trying to steal his rawhide. No fight occurred, but we will not give them chews in the car when they are together again to prevent such behavior in the future.
We left Jack in the van, tethered to the back seat, while Ronda picked up a prescription in Rite Aid. When we returned he was calm and happy to see us.
Jack needs to learn to be calm with high value chews around other dogs and not to attempt to jump out of a vehicle when the doors open. Until such time, tethering him when I am alone with him or having a second with me to keep hold of his lead will keep him safe.
Observations
Jack is a bold boy who enjoys a good joke and is very sensitive and sweet with people and other animals. He is uncertain of his fate right now and still settling into his new life. Until he's come to terms with his new home and new routine he will be unable to join the training game. Jack is not in the game.
Jack needs consistency and reassurance while he adjusts to his new life. I have no doubt Jack will settle into his new life quickly.
Today he was a busy boy playing with Emma and taste testing my house. He tried out my recliner (got a quick response from me) and then my wheelchair (another quick response) and started taking things off of tables and counters. He's very curious about everything and apparently is a mouth explorer.
At one point he spotted the ball on the fridge that I have there for Max to use to pull the fridge open and stood for several minutes chewing on it and playing with it with his nose. Another time he discovered that Max used the tug on the bathroom door to get in and tried it out himself.
He's still a bit spooky about sudden movements, but not objects. He'll become calmer and more confident with training and experience. I am pleased to see his deep curiosity about his world though. He was happy to check out the steam mop and the vacuum when I brought them out.
Level 1
| Zen | Target | Come | Sit | Down | |
| Step | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
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