Afraid of outdoors

snooks

Experienced Member
Poor u and jewels and poor rug. Been there and totally sympathise. Silver lining it wasn't a 75 lb doberman-in my bedroom--yes it was nuclear. A sense of humor helps when u are able to rest and find it. I would ask the doc about feeding. Most of the time the tell me it's oka that evening but I would check with the expert. A little chicken pieces in water/broth soup would probably be yummy. If she doesn't want to eat and she's not taking medicine one night skip I wouldn't worry but might tempt with some lean baked beef. Just keep in touch with the doc and ask about what if's now while they are open and numbers to call if u need them.

What did the doc say was the problem? Glad she's better today. :dogblush:

BTW the smell remover works after the fact too so a day or so won't be bad if u keep her away from it. Natures little miracle u saturate and let it stay moist so that's how it penetrates. I overturn a laundry basket over it to keep them away until that dries since it lets air in and they leave it alone.
 

jewels1

New Member
Jolly Jewels

Hi All,
WOW, we have had a week!! Jewels is very jolly now as am I!:msnohyes: No more diarrhea!!! YAH, we made it through. The food in KONG was the culprit, I mixed the rice with beef broth from a can! Too much for her tummy. Anyway we have worked through it, literally! Feeding over cooked rice with chicken and gradually adding EVO. She is doing great!

Jewels has learned SIT, COME and slowly getting DOWN!!! She also has gone poop outside here at the apartment complex and the Dog Park!!!:dogbiggrin: The progress we have had is incredible. She goes outside without hesitation now, Yippie!!! And she actually had fun in the car going to the Dog Park yesterday. Instead of hiding on the floor, she was on the seat with her nose out the window!!! YES!!!!

I have been working with her slowly inside on SIT, COME,and DOWN. She gets it inside when there are no distractions, but outside when having fun, and distractions are everywhere she doesn't seem to listen.. So will continue to try, don't know what to do about this. No clicker involved yet. What do you girls suggest??

SNOOKS, Jewels has sparkling eyes now!! It's such a joy to see light in her, she is getting happier and happier every day!!:doglaugh: My baby is adjusting, and I think she knows now that she is safe and loved very much! Hate to say it but her not feeling well brought us closer together. I believe it taught her that she can trust me. What a blessing in disguise if ya ask me!!:msnblushing: It's amazing to see the change in her! Wish I was able to catch this on video, I have dig cam but not that advanced on it.:msniwonder:

I will continue with SIT, Come, and Down today. I think I will take her to regular park to do so. When she is outside here at home, Alley (my Cat) seems to distract her big time, by wanting to play. Alley is a big instigator, she loves to play. So if I get her away from Al's then maybe we will have more success.

TTYL, Have a great day! Hug's and kisses from Jewels and I.
 

tx_cowgirl

Honored Member
Staff member
So glad to hear your progress!!!!!

It's typical of all dogs to only listen without distractions--it takes a lot of time and training to get them to listen everywhere. I've only worked with one dog EVER that actually was flawless everywhere without any extensive training. So here's what you do:
Start moving out of the house. Do some training in the back/front yard. If she's not listening to something, pretend she doesn't know it--for example, if you taught her to sit by raising a treat over her nose and back, and you're telling her to sit and she won't, don't say it a million times and get frustrated. Just pretend you have to "reteach" it, and do the same thing you did to teach it. In new environments you kind of have to think that your dog has temporarily gone completely untrained. You have to give them a reminder so they remember, "Oh hey, she's telling me to do something...that's right, that's what I'm supposed to do."

Right now she's a loooooong way away from being perfect at Petsmart, but a great place to start is a not very busy park. You might try a dog-friendly people park before tackling a busy dog park. Get a good distance away from the other park visitors--this may be 10 ft or a 100 ft. The further away you are the easier it is for her to not get distracted. Start here and do the same thing I described above. Once she has this down PERFECT, start moving a little closer to the main flow of foot traffic(but not right next to them yet). Move in tiny increments, and only move closer when she's listening perfectly at prior distance.
Keep in mind that you need to make yourself REALLY interesting--this typically requires looking like an idiot. :) Squeakers, high-pitched voices, running away, anything to become more interesting than the distractions. One thing I've always done is run away without warning if the dog is completely unfocused. (Just be sure to have a long lead on them so you don't abandon them unleashed.) When they run after you, turn to face them and praise enthusiastically, and reward. Now try giving your commands again. If she's just REALLY not catching on at a certain distance, then she's just not ready--move further away from the distractions.

Only when she's perfect at a people park(much fewer dogs than dog park) should you try the dog park. This is a really hard place for pups to listen because all the other dogs are having SOOO much fun, which is why you need to be so interesting. Again, get as far away from the crowd as possible and do some work. Don't get frustrated with her as this is hard. Just give her reminders when necessary and really make a big deal out of her doing the right thing. Enlist a helper(with leashed dog) to come around her. At first they need to stay fairly far away and very slowly move closer. If she can't listen to cues with one dog walking around her, she'll never be able to listen with a million dogs milling about. If she totally loses you and goes for the dog, immediately run away, with squeakers and excited voices if necessary. Running in the opposite direction doesn't always work--you may have to run past her, since she's already focused in that direction.

If you have a relatively slow Petsmart, then find a corner of the store or generally just a very low-traffic area and get to work. Work your way up to being there on busier days with more customers and their pets.

I've done TOOOOONS of work with Mud getting her to listen everywhere. We started in the house(low distraction---TV on, cat and one-two other dogs roaming about), then moved to the field by my house(NO distraction except that it's a new place....not for any real reason other than that it's a great place for walks), then to the backyard(all 4 dogs running about, horses a short distance away, any traffic that drove by, etc), then to a park with a moderate amount of canine/people visitors, then Petsmart. It takes a lot of time and dedication to get your dog to listen perfectly in all environments, but it's great for you and her both. So stick to it!

Glad to hear you two are doing well. Good luck! If anything is unclear feel free to ask.
 

snooks

Experienced Member
so glad jewels is better..late and no sleep so i'm brief tonite-just wanted to check on u guys. rice is a little hard to digest so unless i need it for volume for a really bland diet i dont use it much-then I cook it to death. white not brown (hulls harder to digest)
 

jewels1

New Member
Jewels Learning

Hey thank you so much for this info... I was beginning to think it was stupid of me to keep repeating my self to her.. She doesn't get it on just one command mostly it takes a few times. But this morning she did sit even when a neighborhood cat was with in a foot of us.


tx_cowgirl: Start moving out of the house. Do some training in the back/front yard. If she's not listening to something, pretend she doesn't know it--for example, if you taught her to sit by raising a treat over her nose and back, and you're telling her to sit and she won't, don't say it a million times and get frustrated. Just pretend you have to "reteach" it, and do the same thing you did to teach it. In new environments you kind of have to think that your dog has temporarily gone completely untrained. You have to give them a reminder so they remember, "Oh hey, she's telling me to do something...that's right, that's what I'm supposed to do."


I don't think we will have any time for seriousness today my son is here for the weekend and he is the biggest distraction of all. So I will try starting Monday again...
She did go poop and potty outside this morning again, Yippie, gonna keep my fingers crossed but maybe we are on to something here...
TTYL, and thanks again. Jewels and Brianna:dogwacko:
 

jewels1

New Member
Jewels went poop at the doggie park, Yippie, LOL
Don't know if she has gotten this all the way though, but hoping.. I cleaned the carpet with Natures Little Miracle so will see what happens there. Pretty expensive stuff if ya ask me. But I guess you get what ya pay for..
Had good news yesterday my old boss called and said they are saving a spot in the schedule for me as soon as paperwork with state straightens out. So I am only Temp. laid off YEAH!!!! That made my week...
We shall get back to the training bit tomorrow, I will take her to neighborhood park, hardly anyone goes there.. She shouldn't be to distracted. Have a great day everyone and TTYL.
 

tx_cowgirl

Honored Member
Staff member
Nature's Miracle works great as does PetZyme I hear.

Let us know how the training goes, and congrats on the job!
 

jewels1

New Member
at the park

Jewels has been doing great! She has been going poop at the park everyday, and even went outside the apartment. She has been doing great with come, sit and down. Today we played ball and she brought it back everytime, even with other dogs around.. How do you teach a dog to stay? I have no idea as to how to do this one. Please let me know any suggestions, so we can start on that. Thanks HAGD (have a great day)
 

tx_cowgirl

Honored Member
Staff member
abrionline.org I believe is the site...I know Snooks will reply with the right link. I have it listed on my faves at home, but I'm not home right now so not on my comp. But anyway...go down to Patricia McConnel: Teaching Stay with Body Blocking.

You can also put them in a sit, say stay, and click and treat. Don't move anywhere, just stay put and say stay, then immediately reward. Then you can start saying, "Stay," waiting several seconds, then click and treat. Then take ONE step back, immediately reward. When she's doing that perfect, take two steps, and so on. Sounds like it would take forever but in my experience most pups can get a stay perfect with you ten steps away just in the first session.

Advancing the stay takes a lot more time and work, but for now just get a basic stay down. Eventually your goal can be to put her in a stay, walk or jog 100 ft away and have her never break her position. And gradually add distractions.
 

jewels1

New Member
stay

We tried stay today, Thank you for the tips. Jewels even stayed when I took a few steps away! Yippie!!! I can't believe how well she is doing. She is even taking instruction from my son now so that is major progress..:doglaugh:I am amazed at how well she is doing. Any suggestions on other things we should start on would be great.:msnblushing: Thanks again for the help I also bookmarked that page abrion.com....
 

jewels1

New Member
Training

Oh My I am Tired, just type a whole page and lost it..
I have been busy with other people than Jewels, though she thinks she is a person... My Dad had a stint put in heart and same day Mom had Epideral. So I haven't had the time my young girl is used to having attention... She has been acting up because of this!! She has chewed on a few items such as Quilt, Cell Phone Charger, and baseball cap....
I am afraid she has also regressed in the training she has already had!!!
She is going around whining alot!! And she will not potty outside yet, she poops but that is it... I haven't had had the gull to crate train her, as she whined a lot, but she is doing that now anyway. I tell her NO Whine and she stops for a few seconds.......
Please give me some suggestions:msneek:
 

jewels1

New Member
Crate Training Jewels

Wow, It is working we have had success for two days now... She has only been going outside as I let her out to go. So far it is working, Thank You So Much!!!!! Best Mothers Day gift..
Though I have been getting up in the night it sure beats cleaning the whole carpet in the morning.. We have also been working on stay. She definitely has come, sit and down already.
My girl has come leaps and bounds from the days of being afraid of everything...
I know we couldn't have gotten this far with out you all here.. Thanks again for everything...:dogbiggrin::msnwink:
 

tx_cowgirl

Honored Member
Staff member
No problem and congrats on the progress!!

Just be careful not to let her out every time she cries at night. Try to sleep through all of her crying. At her age she should be able to hold it through the night, but if she's been relieving herself inside during the night then that may not be the case. Just try to get into a set standard of letting her out immediately before bedtime, early the next morning, and then periodically through the day. If she soils her crate, then she probably needs to be let out sometime during the night until she can can hold it for longer. If she does, try to let her out when she's quiet, not crying. So let's say she usually starts crying at 4 am. Let her out at 3:45 or even 3:58. Just as long as you let her out when she's quiet. Make sure she relieves herself outside, even if you have to wait a while, then take her back in. No more outings until you get up the next morning(as early as possible so you know she's relieved herself entirely).

Glad to hear she's doing so well! :)
 

jewels1

New Member
Crate Training

Jewels has been doing great. She even is holding it in through the night. NO MORE WHINING either, yippie!! Now I have been letting her out during the day after she goes outside. She has tried to go inside and I say ah-ah and she goes straight to the door. If she doesn't go outside when I take her she goes straight back into her crate. This seems to be working. How long should I keep this up? Oh I forgot to mention that she hasn't soiled in her crate once, knock on wood...
 

tx_cowgirl

Honored Member
Staff member
So glad to hear you guys are doing so great!! You don't necessarily have to crate her if she doesn't go when you take her out. Just take her back in, let her drink or eat if she needs to, then back outside again. Sometimes just playing a little will pass the time of digestion, lol. And then back outside for another try.

As for how long to keep taking her out so often, it really just depends on the dog. Slowly ease her into fewer bathroom breaks so that you are "weaning" her bladder into being able to hold longer. Since she's had a history of relieving herself in the house, watch her like a hawk. Play or train or tether her to you so you know exactly where she is and what she's doing throughout the day. My dogs go out first thing in the morning, then come in for breakfast. A little play and back outside. I go to work, come home and outside they go. They go outside again right after dinner/before bedtime. So around 4 times a day.

Remember that Jewels shouldn't be in the crate all the time, just when you're gone or can't watch her. So she doesn't have to be in the crate all day long. This is a common misconception and one that people always try to argue with me about. The crate is a resting place, a private place just for them. They can and should be free in the house and allowed to return to the crate at any time. But if you CANNOT watch them at all, then they need to be crated so that they don't start learning to relieve themselves in the house. They should sleep in the crate at night. But beyond that, they shouldn't be "caged" all day long. That's not crate-training, that's just caging your dog. But I think you have the concept of it anyway and it sounds like you two are doing great. Congrats and keep it up!
 
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