great day!

well yesterday was a GREAT day! I was able to take all 3 dogs out separately for training sessions, and all went really well. First we took Royal to starbucks, and I walked him around while Tony got our coffee. We mostly worked on the usual eye contact and heel, with a little bit of leave it mixed in. Then we headed to the spca cause Royal needed his combo vaccine for the therapy class we're starting this Sunday (yay!) and that was an adventure! I only had kibble on me. First we walked around outside a bit since we got there about 20 mins before they opened. Slowly more and more people showed up to wait outside the door with us--lots of distractions. He did well until a cat showed up and we had to move away. Then they opened up and we went inside the lobby. He did well until 2 more cats came in, one a feral in a trap so he could clearly see it. He was too focused on it, and started to bark a bit at it, so we stepped outside. He was still pretty stimulated but I just worked on clicking/treating anytime he looked away from the door, then when he looked kind of at me, then eye contact, and then sitting + eye contact. I was surprised how quickly he calmed down and totally focused back on me. (again, I only had kibble with me. this is usually what we train with anyway these days) We tried stepping back inside and he did well. He was still very focused on the cat but not vocalizing, and I was able to lure some semi-eye contact, again I just C/T when he looked away from the cat. But soon a very reactive dog came in and she and Royal had words.. so we stepped out again. This time Royal focused back to me immediately after we got outside--good boy!!! Once it was our turn, I was able to body block him from seeing the cat and lure him behind a wall near the counter and he sat and gave great eye contact as I filled out the paper work and waiting for the tech to come get him for his shot. I was very pleased with him!!! I can also see how much better a trainer Ive become over the years. Learning how to be patient and figure out how to drop criteria and how to change things so we can be successful in whatever situation, and when its not possible, to realize that and just deal and not get stressed or frustrated. Being able to do this with MY dogs has been a challenge for me.

After we got home from the spca, Tony realized he needed a hair cut. Before we left I took Alki out front to eat her breakfast on the drive way, and practiced a little bit of casual heel, eye contact, and "look at that" with the new neighbor kids across the street. they were being really obnoxious so it was good for her, and she did great, didnt even care. they also have a dog(s) in their backyard that bark a lot, so thats a new bark for her to get used to. sometimes she alerts to it, and sometimes she doesnt notice. yesterday she was a little sensitive to it, so it was good practice. all in all it wasnt a super busy outing, but its always good.

then we headed to get Tony's hair cut, and I brought Brock along. While Tony was in the shop, Brock and I walked around the complex. We worked on instant recall from sniffing at the end of the leash when I say his name. Hes great at this now. I also worked on casual heel, and eye contact while we heeled. And then we did a lot of "leave it" practice, which he rocked. We are definitely at a low level still, and are working right at his level because he was mostly successful, but did try to go for the food a couple times. And by the time Tony finished Brock was nice and calm. Success!

Then when we got home I got an email from the spca foster coordinator saying they had a handful of dogs they need foster care for from a hoarding type situation. Ive been wanted to foster a dog for a while and decided to go for it. We decided to take a 10 mo old border collie girl with demodex. we went and picked her up about an hour later. Before we left I rearranged the crates and figured out how I would intro her to the boys. I also played fetch with Alki to tire her out.

Long story short, we arent going to keep fostering her. She is extremely under socialized to everything, and is way too fearful of my dogs, and is growly and snappy with them sometimes. In order to make it work they would need to be separated a lot, on top of Alki having to stay separated from her for a while until she could get used to her (assuming she could), AND this dog is not crate trained yet either, and would benefit from slower crate training than Im able to do--I need her to be able to go in the crate at will when I need to rotate dogs and give everyone one-on-one time, and its just not going to be good for her. Im really bummed though cause after having her for almost 24 hrs Im totally smitten. She is making progress already and I see so much potential in her.. This is exactly the kind of foster I want, one that requires someone with knowledge & experience that I have, but I think we just cant handle fostering dogs right now. I emailed them and they already found another foster home for her, one that is familiar with the training she needs. We will swap for a foster kitty instead. :)

The great news is that Alki has tolerated her presence extremely well. They have not seen each other, but Alki has been able to smell her throughout the house, and initially I fed her feta cheese while the foster pup was in the other room crying in her crate. She was VERY aroused at first, but after a few mins calmed way down. Then we went outside to play fetch, and because the foster was in our bedroom with the window open, Alki could hear her crying while we played fetch. I rotated between Alki being crated & the foster being crated, and by the second time the foster was crated & crying, Alki was WAY calmer. I fed her some kibble the whole time though still. And I have also kept Alki separated from the other dogs during this time, to prevent her from redirecting onto either of them. By today Alki can hang out while the foster is crying in the other room and she is totally calm. I gave her a bone to chew on initially, and then we just played fetch, and she is totally chill. Her ears perk up a bit here and there at the barking, but mostly she is doing great. Im so pleased.

If this foster was okay being crated, and liked the boys, I would hopefully try introducing her and Alki eventually. First at a great distance, both on leash. Then slowly closer and closer. Then do parallel walks, maybe try brief sniffs through the fence, and eventually both on loose leashes with Alki muzzled, and then if all went well, longer and longer exposure while both leashed, and who knows, MAYBE play eventually, though my ultimate goal with Alki and any other dog is just to be able to walk her near other dogs, and her be able to sniff them briefly then move on, and be "okay" with it. I know she will never love every dog she meets, and I know she already is under socialized to strange dogs and has always needed slow intros before deciding to play with another dog, but I just want to get her back to a point where she isnt scared for her life when she sees another dog.

Anyhooooo... that was our SUPER BUSY but GREAT day yesterday! Oh and the day before: the 21st, I ended up not having an outdoor training session with Alki, but I did play fetch with her A LOT. We went out and played for a while until I thought she was too hot, then came in, but she wasnt even tired, and was still alerting on noises outside. So I let her cool down a bit then we went back out and PLAYED HARD. I wanted to be SURE she was TIRED this time! We took lots of breaks for her to jump in the pool, drink and cool down, but as long as she kept bringing the toy back to me, I kept throwing it! Once she started not bringing it back right away I knew she was truly tired and we headed in, and sure enough, she passed out on her side right away--success! She had a lot of energy pent up from doing nothing the day before, but we worked it all out!

And in other news, little Marilyn is scheduled to fly to Denver TOMORROW MORNING first thing! We will call late tonight to check on the weather status and be sure its still okay, but Im sure it will be. Im nervous but also excited for her! We have to fly her out of SF though, since there are no straight flights to Denver from Sac and to beat the heat she has to fly in on the first flight. Which means we have to leave our house at 1:45am to get her to the air port 2 hrs early, at 3:45am, since her flight leaves at 5:45am. She will arrive in Denver at 9:23am. But, this way she will for sure not get too hot if she has to wait in cargo on the tarmac for any length of time, and she wont have to wait until FALL to go to her new home!

And now, some photos: