Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde
A big weekend for Hershey! First she met Trinity, a friend's Schoodle on Friday night at home when her parents came by with her after the humans had a nice dinner out. She and Trinity got along okay - first outside, barking a bit and chasing, but Trinity was intent on playing the statue game whenever Hershey tried to smell her (which was A LOT) or if she got uncomfortable with Hershey. We forgot how much bigger Hershey is than other dogs compare to tiny Trinitiy.
The next day, Hershey had a play date with Trinity and her brother Scooter (who's a miniature Schnauzer). They met at the enclosed park where she often plays with Thilo, and boy did Hershey go crazy herding them and keeping them in a set space. It was quite remarkable to see her herding instincts kick in - doing the run-along-side thing and freaking out if anyone got out of place. For the most part the dogs all had fun, but at some points both Scooter and Trinity ganged up on Hershey and she felt cornered. A little barking match did occur, but for the most part, they were good with each other.
Today wasn't quite as good - she was scheduled to visit Brad, Christie, and Chantale's place and stay around for the rest of our friends who were to arrive shortly. She was very good with Brad at first who was sitting on the lawn when we got there. She took the treat from him and allowed him to pat her, but when Christie and Chantale came out of the house, she freaked out and lunged at Chantale and growled at Christie - even when Christie tried to give her treats. Luckily I still had her on the leash so she couldn't do any damage, but she sure did frighten the girls. After a little bit, Brad got up to give Hershey more water. When he came back to the yard with her plastic dish, she growled and then lunged at him too! I couldn't believe how bad she was behaving! I took her back home where Chris did lots of training with her for the rest of the day.
It was very upsetting to see her change personalities so quickly, but to think back to it, Brad must have looked very different standing up over her compared to when he was sitting in the grass; and the girls were also standing; this must have been too much for her, what with the new situations and relatively strange people. Plus, whenever she is on a leash she seems more feisty than normal, we have read that the dog feels trapped by the leash, which can make her feel even more uncomfortable.
Anyhow, this reaffirms the fact that we need to get her into an obedience class in the fall, and that we need to do more regular activities (like walks, play dates, and visitors) so that she can get used to obeying commands and become better with other people and animals. We've already started making plans; I think this is really going to help stabilize her mood and make her easier to control in situations that make her nervous.
The next day, Hershey had a play date with Trinity and her brother Scooter (who's a miniature Schnauzer). They met at the enclosed park where she often plays with Thilo, and boy did Hershey go crazy herding them and keeping them in a set space. It was quite remarkable to see her herding instincts kick in - doing the run-along-side thing and freaking out if anyone got out of place. For the most part the dogs all had fun, but at some points both Scooter and Trinity ganged up on Hershey and she felt cornered. A little barking match did occur, but for the most part, they were good with each other.
Today wasn't quite as good - she was scheduled to visit Brad, Christie, and Chantale's place and stay around for the rest of our friends who were to arrive shortly. She was very good with Brad at first who was sitting on the lawn when we got there. She took the treat from him and allowed him to pat her, but when Christie and Chantale came out of the house, she freaked out and lunged at Chantale and growled at Christie - even when Christie tried to give her treats. Luckily I still had her on the leash so she couldn't do any damage, but she sure did frighten the girls. After a little bit, Brad got up to give Hershey more water. When he came back to the yard with her plastic dish, she growled and then lunged at him too! I couldn't believe how bad she was behaving! I took her back home where Chris did lots of training with her for the rest of the day.
It was very upsetting to see her change personalities so quickly, but to think back to it, Brad must have looked very different standing up over her compared to when he was sitting in the grass; and the girls were also standing; this must have been too much for her, what with the new situations and relatively strange people. Plus, whenever she is on a leash she seems more feisty than normal, we have read that the dog feels trapped by the leash, which can make her feel even more uncomfortable.
Anyhow, this reaffirms the fact that we need to get her into an obedience class in the fall, and that we need to do more regular activities (like walks, play dates, and visitors) so that she can get used to obeying commands and become better with other people and animals. We've already started making plans; I think this is really going to help stabilize her mood and make her easier to control in situations that make her nervous.
posted by traxis at
9:57 PM
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