Getting a guardian puppy - any chicken<-->dog communicables I need to worry about?

[Aunt Angus]

She stands up from a dead "sleep" suddenly and then it's all over. Doesn't matter if I stop the car or anything. I read dogs can have non-drowsy Dramamine and may try it. We have a 30+ minute car ride on Saturday to the vet for next shots... Gonna paper the car in puppy pads... That'll at least help me understand if it's anxiety or motion.

Might be a good question for your vet, too. Our dog needs a tranquilizer for long car rides due to anxiety. Our vet prescribed us one.

 

[NatJ]

Gonna paper the car in puppy pads...

Does it help if she rides in a carrier or crate? It might help keep the mess off the car, even if it doesn't change the total amount of mess.

 

[chickfused]

Sadly, it doesn't and I'd rather have a clean dog when I get where I'm going. Mostly when I know we have to go somewhere like the vet she just has to go hungry and thirsty. :/

 

[chickfused]

Puppy trainer came by at lunch hour today and we worked with Copper for a bit after he did an assessment.

His assessment: "Your dog is a very good dog, it's just bossy and very smart. With this one, you will have to cement, over and over and over again, that you're the boss. It is perfectly possible to do this without harming her, or your relationship. Do very strict leash work with her every single day, put her on a schedule for not only going outside, but chores, naps and playtime too. Never let her play until she's tired, and always leave her wanting more. And end on a high note, lots of praise and treat when you are done playing, not her." He also gave me some specific lessons about how to use "sit" to enforce Boss with this one, and improve her stay while we're at it.

He showed me some physical techniques to reduce her annoyance/"not there" biting and snapping. He showed me some ways to calm her the hell down, fast. We got her riled up and he demonstrated and applied lesson one on the snapping and biting. I tried to get her riled up to apply lesson two...and apparently she learned lesson one. Couldn't get her to misbehave.

All in all, great session, and a good investment. I learned an absolute ton in 60 minutes.

 

[chickfused]

Copper with her birds.

 

[chickfused]

She misbehaved pretty badly tonight, but within 5 minutes I was able to pick her up, carry her over to a chair, and had a calm dog sitting in my lap using the techniques I was taught at lunch time. Really interesting.

 

[chickfused]

We had a 45 second mini meltdown today but everything was calm and under control in just a couple of minutes. That dude was worth every cent I paid him for a site visit and then some!

In other news, I got her a Halo collar so she can run the property a bit. We'll start with easy training on that sometime soon.

Edit: And I discovered a thing called treibball, which sounds really interesting and I think we're going to explore that for fun and herding work.

Edit 2: As seen above, she continues to love her birds with no real trouble at all. The white chickens aren't even really having issues with her any more, nor vice versa. One cat really wants to be friends, but is slowly teaching her manners before he's going to let her approach for real. She wants him to play so desperately and is just too riled up for him to let her get close enough to touch. He comes with us on all our walks and stuff though. Interestingly, I have one very elderly cat, and her approach to him is entirely different. She's very calm, and respectful, and quiet with him. They touched noses even and everyone was fine. The last cat wants absolutely nothing to do with her and hisses if she even looks at him.

 

[chickfused]

Took Copper to the vet today for her second shots. She's put on 10 plus pounds in 4 weeks! My goodness. She's healthy and happy and met people. Took her into town to a book sale and she met more people and remet someone she met once the day after she came home. Totally remembered them! She was pretty outgoing for her, said hi to some kids too. Just need more men, dang it! The only man she sees regularly is the vet

 

[chickfused]

Things continue apace. No real changes. Continuing to work on basic obedience. It's pretty touch and go. I bought her a big old yoga ball, we'll see if she wants to do treibball.

 

[cluckmecoop7]

Careful with the Halo collar! Puppies should NEVER have shock collars.