Academic Upgrading
It has been a tough week and a bit for Hershey. We've been trying to introduce her to lots of people and so we've had guests over to the house several times in the last 2 weeks. While she's been pretty good with some of them, especially those that she already met, there are others whom she is more fearful of. It's sad to see her be so nervous. We're trying though, and we must persevere.
On Sunday we had our first dog school session. We got there early and got to speak with our trainer. Hershey was very frightened and reacted poorly because of this - I guess it was a lot, driving down, being in a new place, meeting new people, and realizing she was going to have to change her behaviour. It was hard - because someone who knows about dogs and scared dogs confirmed that Hershey is terrified of people and possibly was abused or yelled at. It broke my heart and knowing that things would be rough and complicated on Hershey for a while as she learns how to work with people, and follow new rules. However, we have no choice. It would be a huge disservice to just ignore these needs and could eventually be totally detrimental to her.
Our trainer gave us very specific directions to work with during the class and things went quite well. Hershey sat and paid attention for a longer period than we had ever seen before - in my opinion she did great and I'm looking forward to our next classes. She was totally pooped by the end of the class though. The class did last 2 hours and we had arrived about half an hour early too. A long day. I was a bit worried about her throwing up in the car - she had so many treats as part of her training I thought it was inevitable. When we got home, she promptly fell asleep (and so did I).
We've been careful to follow the directions and practice the exercises from the class a lot. We talked with our trainer again for more suggestions with regards to working with Hershey in preparation for my parents' visit. She also suggested we work with a dog behaviour specialist. We have followed up on that and have booked an appointment for later on this week. The specialist has suggested a few modifications to the directions we are to follow, and has assured us that the appointment will really help us. I certainly hope so.
We've actually seen changes already with the directions and exercises. Hershey is much more attentive and "in her place" compared to before. I look forward to continued progress!
On Sunday we had our first dog school session. We got there early and got to speak with our trainer. Hershey was very frightened and reacted poorly because of this - I guess it was a lot, driving down, being in a new place, meeting new people, and realizing she was going to have to change her behaviour. It was hard - because someone who knows about dogs and scared dogs confirmed that Hershey is terrified of people and possibly was abused or yelled at. It broke my heart and knowing that things would be rough and complicated on Hershey for a while as she learns how to work with people, and follow new rules. However, we have no choice. It would be a huge disservice to just ignore these needs and could eventually be totally detrimental to her.
Our trainer gave us very specific directions to work with during the class and things went quite well. Hershey sat and paid attention for a longer period than we had ever seen before - in my opinion she did great and I'm looking forward to our next classes. She was totally pooped by the end of the class though. The class did last 2 hours and we had arrived about half an hour early too. A long day. I was a bit worried about her throwing up in the car - she had so many treats as part of her training I thought it was inevitable. When we got home, she promptly fell asleep (and so did I).
We've been careful to follow the directions and practice the exercises from the class a lot. We talked with our trainer again for more suggestions with regards to working with Hershey in preparation for my parents' visit. She also suggested we work with a dog behaviour specialist. We have followed up on that and have booked an appointment for later on this week. The specialist has suggested a few modifications to the directions we are to follow, and has assured us that the appointment will really help us. I certainly hope so.
We've actually seen changes already with the directions and exercises. Hershey is much more attentive and "in her place" compared to before. I look forward to continued progress!
posted by traxis at
7:24 PM
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