Jeri Wagner, Dog Behavioral Therapist & Master Trainer with Bark Busters Home Dog Training chronicles her dog foster experience in the hopes of inspiring and helping others on their dog foster journey. Read along to follow Jamie’s progress!
We saw some good improvements with two problem areas during our sixth week fostering Jamie: walking in the neighborhood and interacting with Jason. Since Jamie is relaxing more, I decided to push her limits more too.
On Tuesday, Jamie and I went for a mile walk around the neighborhood with Jason and Zoey. Although this walk is still a bit stressful for Jamie, she was excited to go out the front door and walk as close to Zoey as possible. Periodically I would work on her leash manners, but I was mostly just happy she was excited about the walk.
I decided to take Jamie out front by herself on Wednesday so we could work on her leash manners. She did great at following through the front door and stayed at her boundary until I called her out. I decided to stay closer to home and only walked our block, which is about 1/4 mile around. The first loop went well – I let Jamie wander a little bit so she could get in some smells of her surroundings, and about halfway around she was walking next to me with a loose leash. Jamie is still hesitant to walk next to parked cars (understandably so, knowing her history) but I can get her to walk past by leaving extra space and giving lots of encouragement.
The second loop was a bit tougher. Not only did the neighborhood squirrel decide to join us, but the big, mean UPS truck came by! I was able to keep Jamie moving even with Mr. Squirrel running circles around us, but Jamie’s fear took over with the Big Brown Truck. She froze, then reared back, front legs up. I gave her a moment to relax as we waited for the UPS delivery man to make his delivery, get back in his truck and drive away. Once he did, Jamie continued with the walk (though she was still visibly stressed). The next three loops around went much smoother, with only a quick sighting of Mr. Squirrel. We ended up walking 1.25 miles that day.
Friday’s 1.25 mile, five-loop walk around the block was pretty smooth. Jamie’s only hesitation was when the neighbor, whose car is normally parked on the street, decided to get in her car and drive away just as we were approaching. Jamie quickly froze at the sight and sound of the idling car but started walking again once the car was on its way.
Jamie is still doing well with Craig – she’s even kept up her evening routine with him! She only charged and growled at him one time this week, when Craig entered the living room while Jamie was resting. He took a big, tall stance and whistled, which startled Jamie out of her slumber. If previous weeks are any indication, I believe this, too, will improve over time.
She is also doing better with Jason and has not growled at him for a few days. I noticed one new behavior from Jamie this week: she removes herself from stressful situations and puts herself in her crate until she is relaxed. This is not something I had her do prior to this, but if she feels her crate is a safe place, then I am fine with her going in there.
Since nighttime seems to raise Jamie’s biggest issue with movements, I decided to use this time frame to push her. On Thursday evening, I sat on the couch next to Jason and called Jamie up. She hesitantly climbed up on the couch, but eventually laid down between us, even resting her head on Jason’s leg. After about 30 minutes, she moved off the couch, went to sit with Craig, then left with me for our nightly hour of TV in the guest room, gated from the rest of the family. Early Friday evening, Jamie climbed up on the couch with little hesitation and laid between me and Jason again. Jason was even able to move slightly and pet her during both interactions!
Before bedtime on Friday, I decided to push Jamie further and called her to the couch again. This time she was more hesitant and less relaxed: when Jason moved his arm away from Jamie to reach for his phone, she gave a big growl. After a verbal correction, though, she quickly settled. I then removed her from the couch and continued with our bedtime routine. Then, on Saturday evening, Jamie climbed up on the couch without me to sit next to Jason! Although this only lasted for a few seconds, it was a big win for her.
Jamie is also improving with her resource guarding. She can have antlers and toys out without growling, even with Craig and Jason around or entering a room. She is still managed with Zoey, but if Zoey does not approach her antler or toy, Jamie is happy and does not guard them. I do still manage this area overall, however, and the toys and antlers are put away if I am not there to supervise.
Jamie has become very routine-oriented over these six weeks and seems to thrive and relax with a very set schedule. She knows when it is mealtime, time to go out for potty, and time for her bedtime routine. Creating structure in a dog’s life through consistent leadership and routine can lead to a much happier and more relaxed dog, so I’m happy to see Jamie responding well to the work we are doing!