Calpurrnia Jean, the Attitude Queen, joined our family on
August 3, 2004. She came to us because the dogs in her
August 3, 2004. She came to us because the dogs in her
the kitchen counter, I knew that he wouldn't spend a lot of
energy chasing Callie, and with enough positive
reinforcement, he could be persuaded to ignore her.
Callie was a different story, she was petrified in Fred's
presence. Before bringing Callie home, I made sure that
she was by nature extremely friendly towards people and
that she was very interested in treats. But when she met
Fred, she had no interest in food. I left her alone in our
den at first, to get acclimated to our house. After a few
days, when I went in to feed her, I began to bring Fred
along. He has a rock solid "go to your bed." It didn't
take long for him to realize that when Callie appeared, that
was his cue to go to his dog bed (Fred has a dog bed in
every room of our house).
Pretty soon, I set up a baby gate at the den door, and
began leaving the door itself open. While Callie wouldn't
eat in Fred's presence, she did realize that food appeared
when he did. Then I added play. With Fred on the other
side of the baby gate, in the hallway, on a down, I would
dangle toys in front of Callie. I ONLY played with Callie
when Fred was in a down on the other side of the gate.
Callie's big breakthrough occurred on a day when both Fred
& I were in the den. I was working on the computer, and
Fred was on his dog bed. Callie hopped down off the desk,
on to the floor, and started batting a piece of paper
around. She wasn't playing with enthusiasm, she was
clearly testing to see if Fred would let her play. I tossed
Fred treats, he stayed put on his bed, and you see the
eventual result, months later, pictured above.
Callie's job at the Happy Hound involves temperament
testing new dogs at Blue Grass Basset Rescue and teaching
dogs in our Beyond the Basics class to "leave it." In both
cases, she is safely ensconced in either Fred's crate or her
own. However, she thoroughly relishes being calm in the
face of D-O-G-S.
energy chasing Callie, and with enough positive
reinforcement, he could be persuaded to ignore her.
Callie was a different story, she was petrified in Fred's
presence. Before bringing Callie home, I made sure that
she was by nature extremely friendly towards people and
that she was very interested in treats. But when she met
Fred, she had no interest in food. I left her alone in our
den at first, to get acclimated to our house. After a few
days, when I went in to feed her, I began to bring Fred
along. He has a rock solid "go to your bed." It didn't
take long for him to realize that when Callie appeared, that
was his cue to go to his dog bed (Fred has a dog bed in
every room of our house).
Pretty soon, I set up a baby gate at the den door, and
began leaving the door itself open. While Callie wouldn't
eat in Fred's presence, she did realize that food appeared
when he did. Then I added play. With Fred on the other
side of the baby gate, in the hallway, on a down, I would
dangle toys in front of Callie. I ONLY played with Callie
when Fred was in a down on the other side of the gate.
Callie's big breakthrough occurred on a day when both Fred
& I were in the den. I was working on the computer, and
Fred was on his dog bed. Callie hopped down off the desk,
on to the floor, and started batting a piece of paper
around. She wasn't playing with enthusiasm, she was
clearly testing to see if Fred would let her play. I tossed
Fred treats, he stayed put on his bed, and you see the
eventual result, months later, pictured above.
Callie's job at the Happy Hound involves temperament
testing new dogs at Blue Grass Basset Rescue and teaching
dogs in our Beyond the Basics class to "leave it." In both
cases, she is safely ensconced in either Fred's crate or her
own. However, she thoroughly relishes being calm in the
face of D-O-G-S.
 | |  | |  | |  | |  |
| The Happy Hound ~ Havin' Fun with Tricks and Good Manners |
former
home had a
very strong
prey drive
and tried to
kill her.
Since
Fred's prey
drive pretty
much stops
at what he
can scarf off
home had a
very strong
prey drive
and tried to
kill her.
Since
Fred's prey
drive pretty
much stops
at what he
can scarf off
| The Happy Hound Havin' Fun with Tricks & Good Manners Peg Dawson Harrington, Trainer & Behavior Consultant Member, Association Pet Dog Trainers #63215 12/08 Member, International Association of Dog Behavior Consultants AKC CGC Evaluator #27443 615-584-2940 Copyright © 2008 Peg Dawson Harrington All rights reserved. |