July Day Two -- To Bark or Not to Bark

We continued our work today and short periods of time of separation. All barking gets ignored and the reunion doesn't happen until all is quiet. To make it more pleasant for him while I'm away (even in the same room but with a barrier), he gets something special. I save his good stuff (Kongs, Bully Sticks, etc.) for when he's alone. I don't make a big production before I leave him or when I come back. In fact, I almost ignore him for several minutes. I just don't want him to think it's a big deal when I leave or when I come back.

Make sure, too, to vary your special treats for him. It makes it a little more exciting and, if it's something he doesn't get very often, it makes it a little more valuable.

Sometimes it's ok if he sleeps under my desk while I'm working but I'm not going to fuss a lot with him while he's there.

Occasionally it's ok to go into another room without him. I'm still not going to make a big deal of my comings and goings. It's just super casual.

I also avoid mindless petting. That sounds hard, right? I mean, really, look at that face. How can you resist? But it's not as bad as it sounds. It just means being a little more conscientious about when you pet him. Ask him for a sit or for attention before petting him. Just have him work a little bit for it. If you want to pet him, instead of going to him, ask him to come to you. It doesn't mean you can't snuggle with him. It's just more of a shift from George calling all the shots to you calling all the shots.

George offers up plenty of opportunities to work on his demand barking but I wanted to do an activity with him that was a) fun and b) full of opportunities to teach him an alternate behavior. So we worked on a dog puzzle where he has to figure out how to move pieces in order to find the hidden treats.

First he needs to be quiet while I'm loading the puzzle. If he barks, I immediately shove the puzzle back and turn my back on him. I don't continue with the puzzle until he's been quiet for at least 10 seconds. Then I praise him for being quiet and continue loading the puzzle. Next, he has to sit patiently while I put the puzzle down. This helps him learn to earn the privilege of playing.

And the payoff is big...

Because then he gets to play. It's much easier and not as formal as it sounds and the dogs' like it just as much as they do when they are learning new tricks.

George said it wasn't too bad here. They even had a window for him to watch the world go by.

But it wasn't quite like home. It was hard to squish himself into the window sill.

He thinks it would be much better if they built him a big window seat like at home because this just doesn't work as well.

And all this hard work just wears a guy out.

July Day One -- Meet the Troops

George's first visit here and we are pleased as punch to have him here! He's such a nice guy!!

To get George slowly acclimated to the new digs, he gets some time by himself to explore around and take everything in at his own speed. There are lots of dog smells and he can hear dogs nearby but he doesn't have the social pressure of being in a new location with a lot of new dogs coming over to check him out. He did well and wagged his tail a lot as he happily came up to me for attention (he must have abandoned his original thought that I was a dog napper taking him from his home).

He meets the troops one at a time, again at his own speed. I think he's met all my dogs before but never where he was so close or even had an opportunity to interact much.

When he's ready, he can approach (or not approach) at his will.

To my surprise, Healey, who normally doesn't really care to interact with the visiting dogs, went right up to George and did a play bough. Unheard of for Healey. Maybe George is just her speed.

Next up was the Thistle introduction. Perfect socially acceptable greeting. George was good about setting his boundaries if he was feeling a little overwhelmed but no need to here with such a nice introduction.

Thistle is a little more affectionate than Healey but George didn't seem to mind too much.

Well, he could do without the kiss.

A little bit of stress panting at first but he quickly settled in.

We worked on short periods of time alone. Very short...to help build up his ability to be alone. When he's alone, he gets his bully sticks or a stuffed Kong or some tasty treats. But when he is back with me, I'm as boring as can be for at least 5 minutes.

Barking has been minimal so far. I am guessing I will see more tomorrow when he's feeling his oats. But when he did bark, I quickly turned my back on him. When I was preparing his dinner and he barked, at the first bark, I set down the food I was preparing and quickly turned my back on him, tucked my arms in and looked up towards the ceiling. I didn't move towards making his meal again until he had been quiet for about 15 or 20 seconds. Then I praised him for being quiet and continued preparing his meal. I only stopped twice before he started to figure out the connection. He'll repeat what works for him so, if it pays off more to be quiet, he's more likely to repeat that behavior.