Signed up for classes.

[Mad Murphy]

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Last night the second class... I got told off (slightly) for rewarding Murphy with a pat or cuddle when really he was waiting for the treat..
Murphy was put to the test when one of the ladies from last week bought her husband along. He didnt join in but lurked on the outskirts of the class and at one point while doing a long lead exersize he stood next to the building in the shadow at which point Murphy froze trying to decide if he needed to attack this stranger or not.
In the end he returned to me and we carried on. Later the trainer congratulalted us me for waiting it out and Murphy for returning to the exersize.
The man apologised but as I told him this is why Im at classes to lean how to deal with the unexpected.
So it all went fairly well.
Mind you the real test was last night, first he froze and then lunged onto the grass nearly pulling me over I aimed the torch at the post he was pointing at and found two hedgehogs having a face off. Then as we walked back through the park I saw lights and discovered 4or 5 police officers searching the park for someone. Murphy didnt bark at them at all

 

[Josie]

Last night the second class... I got told off (slightly) for rewarding Murphy with a pat or cuddle when really he was waiting for the treat..
Murphy was put to the test when one of the ladies from last week bought her husband along. He didnt join in but lurked on the outskirts of the class and at one point while doing a long lead exersize he stood next to the building in the shadow at which point Murphy froze trying to decide if he needed to attack this stranger or not.
In the end he returned to me and we carried on. Later the trainer congratulalted us me for waiting it out and Murphy for returning to the exersize.
The man apologised but as I told him this is why Im at classes to lean how to deal with the unexpected.
So it all went fairly well.
Mind you the real test was last night, first he froze and then lunged onto the grass nearly pulling me over I aimed the torch at the post he was pointing at and found two hedgehogs having a face off. Then as we walked back through the park I saw lights and discovered 4or 5 police officers searching the park for someone. Murphy didnt bark at them at all

Hedgehogs are particularly scary! We had one in our garden last night! We’ve called him Frederick

Glad your classes are going well

 

[merlina]

Good to hear it's helping. We've signed up for our third series because, although the changes are subtle, they are there- oh and he loves going!

 

[Mad Murphy]

Third lesson,
It was inside because of the rain which was good but also bad because a new place meant Murphy was distracted by the sounds and smells, plus the owners of the little fluffy kept letting it run over toward Murphy.
This got them a little lecture from the trainer who explained that in this setting its distracting for both dogs but in the wider world it could be dangerous for their small dog to be a social butterfly.
They are away next week so that isnt a bad thing.

Other than that it went well and Murphy does seem more relaxed around people although he was still not happy about the trainer crossing the room behind him (us). Lurking man was there again and I heard him telling the trainer that he had to leave his mobile on because he was on call... (hes an undertaker, I suppose lurking is part of the job).
One thing I do like is that when it comes to command this trainer asks us our normal word and asks us to use this word only while doing an exersize , there is no pressure to use a vocabulary that she has chosen and I like that.

 

[Flobo]

Glad to hear you are sticking to the sessions and haven't bolted after the first one, sounds like it is going in a positive, manageable and not too traumatic way, hooray! Just going back to the undertaker, do you think he lurks in the shadows coz he's measuring people up on the quiet??!

 

[Mad Murphy]

Im learning to pray ... for them not me.
Murphy did so well last night recall on a long lead ignoring the other dogs and walking over a narrow obsticle course made of ramps platforms and steps.
But some local scum bags kids thought it was funny to throw fireworks at the area we use for training ..This is part of the local dog shelter... When some dogs started barking they laughed, shouted woof woof and threw more bangers.
Only when a very loud bang went off close by did Murphy press himself to my legs but one of the other dogs was running in circles in panic and I could hear the shelter dogs barking and howling.
Now Im a pacifist but ....If I catch anyone throwing fireworks near animals.... They will need to pray and hope for a quick answer.

 

[JudyN]

That is awful, MM. Has it been reported to the police? Could anyone identify the youths?

 

[JudyN]

View attachment 111977599

I love that.

 

[Mad Murphy]

That is awful, MM. Has it been reported to the police? Could anyone identify the youths?

Hi @JudyN sadly there is a footpath with a tunnel under the main road that runs along the boundery of the shelter grounds and the monsters use it a a safe launch site with a quick getaway. But even if they are caught not much happens especially given the way some parents are. A few years ago I changed my hairdresser when I heard her complaining that her 7 year old had been stopped by police and referred to youth services after they caught him standing on someones flat roof shoving fireworks down their rain pipe. She was annoyed that they had summoned her to collect him from the police station and given him a ticking off !

 

[JudyN]

 

[Josie]

Horrible people

 

[Flobo]

I know I have said this before but there is something very wrong with some(it seems quite a lot) of people..and not just people, parents!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Mad Murphy]

This week I can honestly say Im seeing some of the training tips paying off.
A few nights ago some people with a dog on the opposite side of the road, their dog kicked off and instead of trying to keep going or walk away I just stood with Murphy let him observe and told him rustig (calm) he didnt get panicked or bark so I was really proud.
This morning a man went past while I was talking to my neighbour , he uses a stick and thats a huge trigger for Murphy but this morning I calmly asked Murphy to sit and while he sat I gave him treats with his key word ...Yes.. he stayed in the sit accepting the little treats and didnt bark or get spooked at all..

I think Im actually looking forward to class tomorrow.

 

[Mad Murphy]

Well last night was just great... Walking over different surfaces, a trampoline, foam blocks, a big squishy balance cushion etc well he aced it.. He was a little hy of the big balance cushion at first but he soon got over his caution and stepped up when asked to. Then we did sit and stay they all had to sit in a hula hoop and wait until given the 'free' to leave it.. Murphy did way better than Id expected. For the fun bit they all got an egg carton which had some treats in it and they had to learn to flip open the lid.. Which he did like a pro !
This morning on our walk he faced a very scary scene and with the things we have learned we managed to walk on and ignore it. This was what loomed up as we crossed a bridge on our walk...

 

[Mad Murphy]

Dogs and children designed to make you look foolish.
After the episode of swan chasing we have been trying hard to use the techniques learned at school with Murphy. First day he acted as if I was speaking Chinese and ignored me totally next day he was a bit better and this morning he behaved really well.
But last night at class the trainer asked how things were going and I mentioned the swan incident and how badly behaved he had been..
The little devil then made himself the star of the show and did absolutly everything asked of him, he even ignored the lurker man who walked behind him carrying a chair. He went through hoops literally, through the hoop, over a raised platform and round a cone using no spoken command only hand leading. Then he sat there and did a perfect sit up and beg for his treat.. Everyone said Awwww.

Theres me telling everyone hes got cloth ears and then he goes and gets a gold star !

(Im pleased really)

 

[Mad Murphy]

Last night another class and I expected Murphy to be distracted because I had been away all day so he been home alone with his dad.

In fact in did quite well and I saw when he was getting stressed by a new exersize and gave him a pause which the trainer said was really good.

One thing he loved was the relax game at the end and I wanted to share it with others because this is a dog puzzle we can all make very cheaply. Take on silicone muffin tray and balls from the size of a golf ball to tennis ball size plus sone childs plastic tea cups. Start with the golf ball sized ball and drop some treats into a few of the muffin holes but cover them with the small ball so that the dog can nose around and find the treat easily, then try the bigger ball so that the treat is covered and the dog has to nose the ball away, then move onto the tea cup the dog has to pick up that to get to the treat.. She taught us to couple a command 'touch' to the activity so that the dog knows thay have to look under the specific cup or ball.

Murphy loved it and seemed quite sad when the muffin tray and balls got cleared away... I am definetly going to try this at home.. If it works I will share a photo.

 

[Mad Murphy]

Im thinking of the puzzel as a Christmas present for Murphy. Ive been so busy I got the tray but not the balls to go in it.

But the news this week is that the Christmas tree is up.

Now in his first year we didnt even try, he was only 5 months and I thought a tree with lights and baubles would be too much temptation. Last year the box came down from the loft and he barked and snarled and treated the box as if it contained an axe murderer. Then the tree came out in stages (its in 3 sections) I kept my hands and the parts low and laid them on the floor but to no avail, Murphy danced around barking and snapping at the green monster.

OH walked him while I put the tree up but as soon as he came in he barked and it took him a couple of days to get used to it. He would come into the room or out of the kitchen and act as if he had only just seen it.

Well yesterday was 'the day' I bought the box down and he sniffed at it.. I left it on the floor and he walked away.. So I opened the box and lifted out the first section..NO reaction!! I lifted out the second section NO reaction! I put up and decorated a whole tree while Murphy snoozed in the chair...

I am sure this is partly due to classes where he has been getting used to strange new objects not being dangerous.. This week he even followed the hand signal of the trainer across a little series of steps and hoops!

He is now no longer barking at every movement beyond the fence although umberellas suddenly bobbing along above the fence still spook him.

Im really seeing improvement and Im glad we have done these classes (we have two more to go) even though I still hate the social side and just concentrate on the class..

 

[Ari_RR]

Nice! The way he handled the tree - great, it’s so terrific to see them being able to handle things, isn’t it?

I am sure there are lots of things which contributed to this success, and if classes were one of them - then great, well worth the stretch of social awkwardness you experience there. Socially, classes have awlays been a challenge for me too, I totally get it.

 

[Mad Murphy]

Nice! The way he handled the tree - great, it’s so terrific to see them being able to handle things, isn’t it?

I am sure there are lots of things which contributed to this success, and if classes were one of them - then great, well worth the stretch of social awkwardness you experience there. Socially, classes have awlays been a challenge for me too, I totally get it.

I think the classes have helped because he has been around strange people including Mr lurker guy in a different location (we train at the local shelter) and there are new and different objects every week. We have our mat as a safe place so any time the dog gets axious we can take a time out and return to our mat. But for example learning to trust putting your head into a bucket while other people are milling about was a biggy for Murph's plus the whole walking over an obsticle course thing with all the textures and shapes while keeping calm seems to have helped him and I think helped me. Ive learned not to rush or push him to accept but to let him have the time to look at, examine and adjust to each new thing.

Socially Im still hopeless I got asked to a party last night, then kind of forced into it because the womans photographer let her down and she came to me in tears, so I went but as soon as someone else turned up with a camera I high tailed it out the door!

 

[Mad Murphy]

Next week is the last class and I have to say in some ways I will miss going. It gives me a hour of me and Murphy time that I dont normally get. It lets me see that he can behave and that I can help him through his stress points.
Its a positive time where he is the star of my world and gets constantly rewarded for it.

He's doing well and I can say he ignored both fireworks and yelling children last night and managed to concentrate on doing balance work too,

He managed the whole christmas tree thing well and yesterday we had a visit from OH's case worker, a lady he has barked at on every visit shes made for the past year. This time he ignored her and while she was sitting down he walked past then he laid on the floor. At one point she stood up and walked quite closely past him to go talk to OH and he didnt even blink,, I dont think I breathed at that moment but never mind,,

He just behaved as if she wasnt there, it was amazing..

Yesterday while walking he saw a whole group of school children cycle past all chattering and yelling and he didnt bark or growl once. For once I didnt have a mad beast on a lead just a very well behaved dog..