A Tale of Two Kittens and One Puppy » The roller coaster of training

There are days that the animals go back and forth between little angels and little devils so quickly that I swear all my hair will turn grey on the spot.

Today on our walk, the dachsund that sometimes joins us — and hadn’t in a long, long time — reappeared. Lola handled it okay; not great, not bad. There was a little growling and lunging initially, but she is much more controllable now and she settled down quickly. I even got in a few clicks for her calmly touching noses with him.

Then another small dog crossed the street to join the fun. That one didn’t want to get in her face, so we just moved on. The dachsund followed us for a while, then sat down and howled. I hadn’t heard it make any sounds before, but oddly enough, its howling didn’t seem to bother the dogs.

We also did a five minute down-stay about halfway through our walk. I was really surprised that Lola could hold it that long, but it is very hot and humid, even though we walk fairly early in the day now.

Then when we got home, both boys were in, so I decided we’d work a bit with the dogs and the boys. Maybe I’m on the wrong track here. So far I’ve been having the dogs in a down-stay, while I throw treats around for the boys. As long as the dogs stay in their down-stay, they get treats. That way they get used to the cats running around, but getting treated for staying while the cats are active.

Things were going fine at first. Gizmo got a little spooked for no reason at some point, and went into the bedroom. I continued on with Simba, but Lola snapped at him when he got too close.

Unfortunately I yelled at her loudly enough to scare Simba, who is actually generally rather unflappable, which I know is the wrong thing to do. But I’m not perfect either.

Maybe it’s time to consult with a trainer about Lola. I’ve made a lot of headway with her, but I’m still not satisfied with her reactions around the boys or other dogs. She’s fine with the cats as long as they’re just curled up sleeping, which luckily is most of the day, but if the minute they start moving she wants to chase.

What’s even worse is that the other day they chased Gizmo out into the kennel when as far as I could tell he wasn’t doing anything. They usually get along extremely well with Simba, who often hangs out around them because he’s figured out that treats tend to appear around the dogs.

They all tolerate one another 95% of the time. The last time I had a private session with a trainer, it was helpful, but ultimately I solved the problem on my own. But I think Lola’s problem is actually more serious.

Later in the day, however, when Gizmo started to run around, I told Lola to leave him & she came right to me.

I talked a bit with Chester’s agility instructor yesterday about Lola. I’d like to do agility with her, but am not sure whether or not she’d be a distraction in the class. She suggested that maybe doing a couple of private sessions first migth be helpful for her, so she’d be more relaxed during class. Maybe we can discuss dealing with some of her behavioral issues, too. I like this instructor a lot.

Technorati Tags: growling and lunging, clicks, snapped, trainer