# Golden Tomo Training Diary



## jomiel (Feb 15, 2019)

Completed training:

Sirius puppy kindergarden, puppy 1, puppy 2, and now we're on our third round of puppy 3 
puppy socialization and training at a few places in SF, including SF SPCA when they offered puppy courses.
A couple of personal training at home for specific issues (puppy biting and then counter surfing).
Was at puppy daycare 5 days a week from 8 to 11 months, then switched daycares to be with more adult dogs as he got annoyed with some puppy play and started not getting along with some adolescent males. Then due to covid and leash reactivity (interested/frustrated when seeing dogs), stopped daycare at 13 months.

We've been working on leash skills (no pulling, hurrying past certain houses if they don't like dogs, no eating trash, etc) and lowering reactivity thresholds for the past 3 months. He's real great at home! Settles down for most of the 9-5 work hours. No counter surfing, unless there's freshly baked bread or waffles lol.

Our trainer described him as having "big feelings". He's a happy, confident dog almost all the time. For dog reactivity we've been doing leash walks and long line walks, basically following along Patricia McConnell's Feisty Fido book about Watch.


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## jomiel (Feb 15, 2019)

He did so well during our park walk today, I’m so proud! 🥺

He was a little distracted during our noon walk (in the neighborhood) so I thought on our afternoon walk (on a long line in Golden Gate Park) we would work on Watch (and auto watch), avoiding dogs at a good distance, and practice quick turns/run away joyfully. GGP makes this easy as it’s really dense with places of interest, little paths connecting everything, and plenty of hills, trees, and shrubs/greenery to cover the line of sight if I pay attention to our surroundings and look out for dogs coming. (In neighborhoods I would use parked cars for cover or cross the street.)

I saw about 20 dogs, and Tomo saw about half them since I would change our path or run ahead. Most were in the easy category, being more than 20 yards away. A few times they were within 10 yards and I was armed with a Belgian waffle as our high value treat 😂 I would shove a piece of waffle next to his nose and he would do a Watch or we ran off together.

Super pleased with today’s training! These past couple of weeks have been so much better — we’ve been working on reactivity for 3-4 months and some days are so bad I just want to sit and cry... Not sure if it’s just finally enough training hours, I’m getting better at anticipating situations, or if he grew up enough — perhaps a combo of all 3.

I made more sourdough waffle batter for tmw 😛


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## CAROLINA MOM (May 12, 2009)

You and Tomo are doing a Great job!


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## jomiel (Feb 15, 2019)

I've been very bad about updating Tomo's training diary, but we are still training every day and doing once weekly Zoom group sessions with our trainer. He is going to turn 2 years old this month!

He has really settled down and matured this year during shelter-in-place. He's so good in the house, sleeping most of the day while we're working, and only whining occasionally when he thinks it's time for a walking break! The weekly classes are mostly for me to keep up with training and to get feedback about how I'm handling training. I could see him doing a lot more if I can dedicate more time to do it -- I think it'll be really fun to have him do object retrievals like slippers, but I haven't dedicated any serious time to do it. 

Right now my main thing is his attention outside. He's so good when he pays attention to me, but most of the time he's off in his doggy world of smells, dirt, and other dogs. I don't mind the sniffing, marking, and other interactions, since the walk/hike is his time. But his level of attention and reactivity to other dogs could be really high. He has a lot of confidence projection (leans forward, tail like a flag, stare) and always wants to meet other dogs, probably a consequence of being in daycare for a few months. The problem is that not all dogs like greetings, and half of them do not like how forward he greets them. So I've been trying to get his attention or play U Turns, but he's just so stubborn and so highly aroused that 90% of the time he won't leave with me, or else he'll be frustrated and whine at me when I do pull him away. 

I'm not sure if I just need to continue what we're doing (attention games, U turns, calm stays on the towel, and just in general continue desensitization), or what else I can do to help him be more confident and calm. It's impossible to avoid dogs when we live in the city and dogs often will surprise us around a corner, or their owners are preoccupied or not understanding why I'm dragging my dog away... If this is just part of learning and experiencing the world, that's okay. But I want to make sure I'm not perpetuating adverse emotions when we meet dogs, and it's really hard not to be anxious and put on my happy voice when he's dragging me over or barking/pulling because the other dog dared to stare back. He's still intact as I've gotten permission from the breeder, not sure what is the best thing for him.


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## jomiel (Feb 15, 2019)

Photos!!

Pillar Point Bluff (wearing a shoe because he split his paw pad playing fetch)









Begging for some chicken









Posing with the stuffie hospital in the back...









Ready to open his holiday advent


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## jomiel (Feb 15, 2019)

Loooves puddles









Running!









His place for dinner (after acting like he doesn’t know how to lie down there cuz there’s a ball there)









He’s much better with females, seniors, and puppies.


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## CAROLINA MOM (May 12, 2009)

Handsome boy!


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## jomiel (Feb 15, 2019)

I had a frustrating walk/outing today and it illustrates how I need to be mentally prepared and be more accountable in our reactivity-specific training.

Our usual routine:

Everyday Tomo gets 2-3 walks a day. My husband does the morning and lunchtime/early afternoon walk, which is around the neighborhood and typically 30 min long. Then in the late afternoon I’ll drive Tomo to Golden Gate Park and we’ll romp around with a long line in the quieter areas, he gets to sniff, dig, we’ll play a bit of fetch. If there’s no one around, we’ll do some recalls or fetch while he drags his leash around, or he gets to swim in the duck pond. We’ll also practice doing down stays and being calm on a hand towel.

About every other weekend we’ll do a hike on a low traffic trail for about 2 miles. And some days we’ll do a neighborhood walk to the “Main Street” area.

Because of covid and Tomo’s dog reactivity, I have stopped taking him to places like the front of the farmer’s market or Trader Joe’s, dog parks or beaches, and pet food stores, where we used to do training and desensitization. We will sometimes do garden centers and Home Depot, or in front of the gym that’s 100 yds from the pet food store.

So today we do our usual in the park, we met a younger female dog and asked to greet, that goes okay. On our way back to the car, we see another younger dog. I ask if we can say hi, but the owner shortens her leash and begins to treat and walk her dog past us. The dog is about 10-15 feet away from us.

I attempt to turn Tomo away, but he’s already doing the “stand forward and stare,” and then he growls and pulls. I know it’s probably out of frustration that he can’t immediately run up and play, but it looks and feels scary, as he’s a 75 lbs dog that I’m desperately holding on to. When I’ve pulled him away and turn my head to see the other dog, the owner has her dog in her arms as they’re quickly walking away.

I know at the heart that Tomo is a young dog and he can’t help being so excited — he just has too much feelings too fast, but I feel like I’m the parent of a bully at the playground ☹ I feel terrible that I read the situation wrong, that I shouldn’t have let us get so close, that he shouldn’t have been so in front of me so it’s hard for me to turn him in time. It’s really hard to keep my cool when I immediately get frustrated and angry.

I’ve never been so dedicated to dog training and spent so much time thinking about my dog. But then I’m also asking him to do so much more than my previous dogs (they were much more homebodies).


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## jomiel (Feb 15, 2019)

Obviously the anger part I’ll have to talk with my therapist 😂

I emailed our trainer and asked her to do some additional private training. Last group session she said I shouldn’t compare how good Tomo is in the house versus his behavior outside the house, since of course we spent so much time training at home and our house is pretty quiet. She had wanted me to go out to a field or a parking lot, put him on a long line and just stand there, and time him to see how long it takes to calm down. Then train to calm on a mat, rinse and repeat, and have times recorded for analysis.

Tomo is so good when he isn’t preoccupied with alertness in the environment or attuned to other dogs, so I’ll just have to keep practicing what I know we should be spending more time on.

Practice being calm on mat - parking lots, back yard, street at night, across from pet food store - at least 2x a week
Cont working on being calm in down stay on walks
High rewards for seeing dog and turning - bring more meat/cheese only for this
More U-turn practice


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## jomiel (Feb 15, 2019)

Earlier this afternoon we went into the backyard and I gave him a raw beef bone on his mat while I worked on my laptop, and we were out probably an hour.

so his reactivity could be from having worked hard earlier today. I noticed that on our group training days, he tends to have less self control and listen to me less during the walk after training, probably cuz he is mentally tired from training (as am I).

Tonight we did some mat training on our front porch. I treated for being relaxed and seeing a couple of dogs across the street. It was about 20 min and went well.


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## jomiel (Feb 15, 2019)

Today we went to the local garden center half an hour before closing, a few of the staff crowded around him for pets, and then we went for a walk around there after putting the vegetable fertilizer in the car. The Irish center apparently had an outdoor party and we practiced mat stay for a very short time in their driveway.


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## jomiel (Feb 15, 2019)

Had to to pick up more fertilizer from the garden store again on Sunday, it was rainy so another great training opportunity (otherwise the gardening store is PACKED on the weekends). He was quite good on leash following me around (high value treats were sourdough Belgian waffle and raw beef grind that I baked into little patties) and even heeled nicely next to the cart when we were leaving! He's fairly polite at greeting people except when they go into EXCITED PUPPY TALK mode, but I figured those people want him to jump all over them...

One of the employees said that it must be super great to be with a golden sunshine dog all the time and I must be really happy. I was a little too preoccupied with Tomo putting his paws up on the checkout counter to reply much, other than to think that I was anxious and busy the entire time because I wanted him on be on his good behavior lol.


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## jomiel (Feb 15, 2019)

Today's park outing went really well. We walked around 45 min on the long line, Tomo was under excitement threshold and being fairly attentive to me; he couldn't leave a particularly gross, smelly spot but did come when called when he wanted to take a side branch of the path. 

We met 4 dogs on the walk, he waited with a bit of leash pressure but did stay by my side until I asked the owners to meet and gave the okay. He still ran straight to them but they were fine for the most part. The 10 year old chow chow snapped at him a bit and I felt bad that the owner reprimanded her dog, I tried to tell them that Tomo is the one who is rude and need to learn some manners  

We got home and then I let him chew his frozen bone in the yard for a bit before dinner. 

This week I will continue to be outside more, rewarding for calm, continuing playing the Look at That Dog/treating for looking back at me, having chews time with down stays outside on the mat, and keeping him well below the excitement threshold.


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

Can I ask why he has to say hi to a strange dog on leash? I feel like being allowed to say hi to another dog on leash may be contributing some towards his reactivity to other dogs (it's pretty common). Dogs interacting for the first time on a leash is usually a recipe for disaster.

The hard staring, forward stance, and the growling are pretty common signs of leash frustration (which can lead to leash reactivity and some more serious dog reactivity).


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## jomiel (Feb 15, 2019)

aesthetic said:


> Can I ask why he has to say hi to a strange dog on leash? I feel like being allowed to say hi to another dog on leash may be contributing some towards his reactivity to other dogs (it's pretty common). Dogs interacting for the first time on a leash is usually a recipe for disaster.
> 
> The hard staring, forward stance, and the growling are pretty common signs of leash frustration (which can lead to leash reactivity and some more serious dog reactivity).


Sure, I agree that his excitement and subsequent reactivity (he's acting rudely since he's so excited, and then the other dog will often tell him off for being so rude) is related to his need to go say hi to other dogs. My trainer says it's likely an unintended consequence of being at daycare. I picked daycares that had more supervision, naptimes, and had less dogs, and he was only in daycares for about 6 months, but it did condition him to think that all dogs want to greet and play.

Some days we work on being by my side and not greeting any dogs -- especially if he's high energy and not capable of listening, then I don't want to set him up for failure -- but he's such an outgoing dog that I noticed he was starting to whine out of frustration when I was strict on no dogs (since he wanted to please me but also really wanted to greet the dog and I made him choose). He was affected too at the beginning of covid shelter-in-place when we didn't know the extent of transmissions, all of a sudden no one is giving him any loving and no one was coming over. Also I live in SF and it's impossible to avoid dogs, there are more dogs than children! 

I recognize that I need to be a better leader and make better choices about my reactions (I'm nervous that it won't go well so I'm hypervigilant and I'm sure he feels my anxiety), so I am currently reading some books recommended in other reactivity training threads.

Thanks for the question, it was good for me to go over my thinking  If you have any suggestions or feedback, I am all ears!


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

I have a lot of thoughts and this is all over the place, but basically my suggestion would be to stop on-leash greetings all the time LOL. A lot of the behavior you're seeing, imo, is because he's been allowed to greet dogs on leash in the past and is now not able to (or not allowed immediately when he wants to). He does not know that the reason he can't greet a dog right now is because he's acting out - all he knows is that he wants to go see the dog, but something (the leash) is holding him back.

When Kaizer was young, I did let him do on-leash greetings with dogs (especially the dogs around my neighborhood). Mainly cause I was new to my area and I didn't know anyone with a dog and I felt bad that my puppy didn't have any friends (as an aside, that is totally an idea that we as humans have put on dogs. Pet dogs do not need to have dog friends or need to be friendly with other dogs -- casual acceptance is totally fine). I think around 10 months, he started barking at passing dogs and posturing and wanting to go see them. And a lot of the dogs we said hi to off leash lost their **** on him because he was an intact boy and a lot of dogs have feelings about intact boys. I'm fairly certain all of that led to Kaizer's reactivity issues. He was always kind of worried about other dogs, so none of that certainly helped. I DO call him reactive because he certainly reacted (not aggressive because I truly do not think he would ever attack another dog). If a dog looked at him wrong or barked at him or got "too close" to him, he would bark and lunge and growl. It was all a lot of noise meant to scare them off. I've done a lot of work with him and he no longer really reacts, but it was a long road. And to clarify, he will never be 100% OK with dogs. If we turned a corner and a dog was suddenly in his face, he will bark. I DO have to watch him if we're somewhere a dog could get too close or stare too hard at him - my training was just so that I could interrupt him or redirect his attention back to me and prevent him from reacting. 

But he also goes literally everywhere with me. I have not taken a vacation that I could not take him to. He's been to DC, NYC, Miami, Tampa, Orlando, Key West, Detroit, and Niagara Falls, among other places. Big cities with lots of dogs and people, and I've never had an issue. My point in saying that is that you can have a dog in a big city with lots of other dogs and never greet a dog on leash, ever (or at least severely limit the happenings). 

Obviously I only know what you've posted here, but I think I disagree that with the assessment that daycare is the reason he's reacting. I agree that maybe now he associates dogs with playing, but dogs are perfectly capable of understanding that they CAN play with dogs in this context and they CANNOT play with dogs in another context. They're just not great at learning "sometimes" you can greet strange dogs on leash but other times you can't. Context means a lot to dogs. 

Also, in general for any dog, I'm not the biggest fan of on leash dog greetings because a lot of dogs will react negatively when on leash. My understanding of it is that there's no escape (how far can a dog get from another dog if they're on leash?) so if the approaching dog is being rude or being too much, the dog on the receiving end will act out in a more dramatic way that it normally would since the option to flee or de-escalate the situation in another way has been removed. It's just a good way to have a really bad experience. I can tell you for sure that when I let Kaizer have on-leash greetings, more often than not, a dog would lose it on him. I'm sure that also contributed to his reactivity problem (if there is a list of every way you can screw up a dog, I 100% did it with Kaizer lol).


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## jomiel (Feb 15, 2019)

aesthetic said:


> I have a lot of thoughts and this is all over the place, but basically my suggestion would be to stop on-leash greetings all the time LOL. A lot of the behavior you're seeing, imo, is because he's been allowed to greet dogs on leash in the past and is now not able to (or not allowed immediately when he wants to). He does not know that the reason he can't greet a dog right now is because he's acting out - all he knows is that he wants to go see the dog, but something (the leash) is holding him back.
> 
> When Kaizer was young, I did let him do on-leash greetings with dogs (especially the dogs around my neighborhood). Mainly cause I was new to my area and I didn't know anyone with a dog and I felt bad that my puppy didn't have any friends (as an aside, that is totally an idea that we as humans have put on dogs. Pet dogs do not need to have dog friends or need to be friendly with other dogs -- casual acceptance is totally fine). I think around 10 months, he started barking at passing dogs and posturing and wanting to go see them. And a lot of the dogs we said hi to off leash lost their **** on him because he was an intact boy and a lot of dogs have feelings about intact boys. I'm fairly certain all of that led to Kaizer's reactivity issues. He was always kind of worried about other dogs, so none of that certainly helped. I DO call him reactive because he certainly reacted (not aggressive because I truly do not think he would ever attack another dog). If a dog looked at him wrong or barked at him or got "too close" to him, he would bark and lunge and growl. It was all a lot of noise meant to scare them off. I've done a lot of work with him and he no longer really reacts, but it was a long road. And to clarify, he will never be 100% OK with dogs. If we turned a corner and a dog was suddenly in his face, he will bark. I DO have to watch him if we're somewhere a dog could get too close or stare too hard at him - my training was just so that I could interrupt him or redirect his attention back to me and prevent him from reacting.
> 
> ...


Thanks for your thoughts! I took some time since I wanted to really think about it. I think there are a few things contributing to the reactivity: conditioning to meet dogs and see if they want to play, leash pressure, wanting to posture and show he's the big man, and reacting to negative reactions from other dogs. He has "big emotions" as my trainer says, and depending on how he's doing that day, he would listen to me really well outside or we need to avoid dogs from a block away.

Yes, Tomo is also intact. We haven't had much trouble on walks or in the parks because of it, though I do find that dog packs will gang up on him because of it, so I avoid places popular with lazy dog walkers or owners who have multiple dogs off-leash but don't have them under voice control.

On neighborhood walks, he's in a walking harness with 2 leashes clipped to front and back. We practice loose leash walking, though he gets to sniff but not allowed to drag me. If I see dogs I'll cross the street or go a different direction, and I'll use parked cars and other obstacles to block line of sight. We don't greet dogs unless we've already been friendly since he was a puppy (and then I'll drop one of the leashes). 

When we're in the park or hiking, he's in a Ruffwear harness with a long line clipped to the front. He gets to sniff all he wants, we might run a little, or play fetch (I'll run with him when I toss the ball, unless there's really no dogs or traffic around, and then I'll let him drag the line around). If we're at a pond or beach with no dogs close by, I'll take his line off and let him swim. We will only greet dogs if he's been good at listening to me, I call out to the owner if the dogs can meet, and then I give the okay to Tomo.

He is sooo happy when he gets to meet and play, it's a different level of happiness than playing with me. So I really want to enable that if we can do it safely (physically and emotionally). Also, I want to make sure he learns calmness as we have the most trouble when I am surprised by a dog I can't avoid in time. The dogs are ALWAYS walked by a man who walks extremely fast (or jogging) and is confident he has absolute control over his dog (and these dogs seem obedient but I cannot read any other emotions) -- and the man does not seem to see or understand that I am a small woman trying to move my dog out of their direct path. Tomo will always freeze, stare, and posture at these dogs as they're coming, and then growl and lunge as they're passing by. Sure, the man controlled his dog just fine, but I am using all my strength to restrain my dog who is then huffy and bothered for the next 5-10 minutes.

I was driving myself crazy trying to avoid this situation so I am trying to accept that I cannot protect my dog from the world all the time, and we'll just have to continue learning below Tomo's excitement threshold so he can have the mental and emotional space to learn to be calm and listen, develop more trust in me, and learn a more appropriate automatic response (to sit next to me instead of pull ahead and stare).

I know we all have our dogs' best interest at heart, and I think if he's more stressed from dog greetings I would do what you advise. But he loves to play with dogs, especially puppies. If a senior dog tells him off for being rude, he shakes that off. I think his reactivity is to other male dogs who are also teenagers or in their prime, as he's still a hormone-y teenager who is re-learning the world now that he's much bigger and testing his place in the dog hierarchy. (A lot of people ask me if he's a puppy)


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## jomiel (Feb 15, 2019)

Today for our class we worked on a new trick of peek-a-boo/center, where Tomo would circle around me, come through my legs from the back, and sit as he comes through. And also worked some distractions during stay on the mat (the ball was pretty hard).

After our class, we did our walk around the UCSF main campus for new smells and to work on desensitization. Tomo did great! Some people came up to greet him, we did a bit of down stay in front of the clinic building, went down and up the elevator (he was scared on the first ride and much better about the moving floor when we came back), barked at the bear statues, etc. I fed him treats when the ambulance and fire trucks came by, and also at buses, shuttles, and motorcyles, though those are pretty routine for him now. It is rainy today and we went after the end of clinic hours but before the hospital shift changes, so human, dog, and car traffic were light -- great to have lots of time and space for training.


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## jomiel (Feb 15, 2019)

I get too focused during training to take photos, but here are some photos at home:

Sleeping with his first stuffie when we brought him home


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## jomiel (Feb 15, 2019)

A recent development we need to work on: Tomo is sometimes suspicious of me walking up to him and definitely when I close the door when we're both in a room. He will also stop drinking from the water bowl in the bathroom and back out really quickly when I finish washing my hands (even though he can choose to drink from a bowl in a different room). 

I already feed him high value treats when I'm grooming his feet or checking for burrs, cleaning his ears, or when we get ready for a bath, but I suppose it's not enough desensitization. I will prepare better treats and do mock grooming/cleaning, and also do some chews time with a closed door.


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## jomiel (Feb 15, 2019)

Tomo turned 2 this past weekend!!

We went on a hike that criss-crosses a creek and ended at a small waterfall, so Tomo had a great time jumping into the creek to swim at every opportunity and met all the friendly dogs.

I had a much less fun time since he was so excited he pulled all the time and it was impossible to calm him down until we were hiking back out. In retrospect, I suppose I should just give up on the commands and just let us both enjoy it....


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## jomiel (Feb 15, 2019)

I was too tired after the hike and the drive home to celebrate much after, but I made a “cake” the next day. It’s made of raw bison patties plus yogurt.


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## diane0905 (Aug 20, 2010)

Looks like y'all had a wonderful time! Happy second birthday to Tomo!


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## jomiel (Feb 15, 2019)

Celebrating some successes this week!

We had a great morning walk today. A dog was on the sidewalk across the street when we first came out of the house, and Tomo was alert but did not negatively respond, and redirected his attention to me quickly when I called his name and gave him a treat. Had great loose leash when walking, and also was willing to redirect his attention to me when we saw a couple of other dogs.

This week I've been more careful in not having leash pressure when we see a dog (I've been reading articles by Suzanne Clothier and re-reading this leash aggression article a lot). If we see a dog, I loosen the leash and remind him to sit. If he tries to go forward, I'll give him a little room on the leash and re-prompt. Although he's still staring and quite alert, he seems to be calmer and have more mental space to listen.

Yesterday in the park on the long line we met 2 dogs who were more reactive, the owners and I signaled to each other the agreement to widen the distance between the dogs and where we were each going. And then we met 2 other dogs who wanted to meet, but we gave both of them time to calm down a bit before greeting. All of these interactions went really well (he gave appropriate calming signals and space after the initial greeting, before getting back to the other dog again) and Tomo had a great time.

I think these positive interactions -- including the agreement to respect the space another dog needs -- really build up his confidence and fluency in dog-dog relationships that's more nuanced than puppy playtimes, and also gives me more enjoyment in our time and human-dog relationship 

I will continue to try hard to learn Tomo's communication and what he needs to be successful.


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## jomiel (Feb 15, 2019)

In addition to Suzanne Clothier articles, my other recent read is On Talking Terms with Dogs: Calming Signals by Turid Rugaas. The photos-heavy guide is really helpful for me to learn dog language. Tomo is a pretty confident dog, but it's really helpful for me to learn how to spot it, how I can try to signal to him to calm down, and how to improve my communication.


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## jomiel (Feb 15, 2019)

In our class this week, we worked on Across (come to heeling position by going behind me no matter where he is) and Switch (from heeling position, walk in front of me and then heel on the other side). Quite fun and a good trick to do to switch his positions if I want to move Tomo. This will be very handy particularly if we are training in stores. And fun to show little kids to get them to like dogs!

Today we worked a bit on this on our walk, we did it in a neighbor's driveway while we let another neighbor have more space on the sidewalk and pass. (The seniors in my neighborhood really appreciate not having to pass by people if they can).

The main thing I have to pay attention to is when we're at home and Tomo thinks he doesn't have enough space to maneuver and do his turn, so I have to make sure I'm away from furniture or the kitchen island.


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## jomiel (Feb 15, 2019)

Oh yesterday on our park romp, Tomo was reactive to another dog (stared, pulled against the leash, and growled/lunged when I pulled him away) -- but this was right after class (when he's more tired mentally after being asked to do new things for an hour), the other owner wasn't great at restraining his dog (who was pulling and obviously not under control), I don't think it's fair to expect Tomo to act with calmness all the time when this is a situation that is harder.

He did great with other dog encounters -- we met a puppy that he's played with before, and also saw a few other dogs at a distance (and one dog was happily playing fetch and running). He would look at the dogs and I would mark and treat for looking, or if he was a bit calmer I'll wait until he looks away or back at me. I'm very happy with how this part of training is progressing, and I feel like me decreasing leash pressure as much as I could was key!

However, there's still circumstances (like what we did yesterday) when he is already so focused on the other dog that he doesn't have emotional space for listening, he just stands and stares and resists all efforts of me trying to move him. So I still have to work on U-turns or other fun distractions that could be better alternative responses that moves him towards me rather than freezing or pulling. 

One distraction I tried is balls or squeaky tug toys that he normally loves, but when he's in this mode he resists any food (even if high value) and toys since he's already over threshold.


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## jomiel (Feb 15, 2019)

We met up this weekend with 2 other dogs from our Zoom training class, they are both 1 year old females so it was nice and easy for Tomo. It was nice to work our dogs in the presence of others dogs also in training, although it was too hot for Tomo so we mostly worked on calm down stays while he watched the other dogs, birds, traffic, etc. Then they had some fun play time. A couple of times while the 2 younger pups played, I had Tomo on his long line, and I was very impressed with his self-control (possibly because it was too hot, lol, but I'll take it).


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## diane0905 (Aug 20, 2010)

Awww. Sweet photo. It's nice y'all could meet up. It doesn't take much heat-wise. Logan has been taking agility, but it's outdoors and it heats up fast here once it starts. I'm hoping I can find some agility training when we are up in the mountains during the summer and have cooler temps.


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## jomiel (Feb 15, 2019)

Yeah, Tomo's favorite weather seems to be when it's super foggy and windy in the winter when it's the low 40s here. I'm all bundled up and he loves sniffing as he's leaning into the wind at the top of the hill 

We were chatting about where/when to meet up again next weekend, and they wanted to do a dog beach. I suggested going there in the morning for less traffic/dogs so it should be cooler, plus he'll get to swim.


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## jomiel (Feb 15, 2019)

Yesterday we had a scary incident in the park: 

We were doing our usual sniffing walk with a long line. We had just paused to let an unleashed Australian shepherd go by (his owner was calling him impatiently to leave the park). Then an unleashed Rottweiler came down the hill, followed by his owner behind. They both walked quite fast and Tomo already noticed so it would be hard to avoid any interaction, so I asked Tomo for a sit. He didn't (he has a hard time doing this if the dog is already close) but also didn't do a hard stare. He went up to greet (I loosened the leash to avoid tension) and the other dog quickly closed the distance.

They touched noses briefly, and then the other dog curled his lips back and attacked Tomo. I tried pull the leash to lead Tomo out, but the long line was tangled between them. There was a second when they were both in front of me but the other dog was closer, and I didn't want to grab a strange dog. Then the owner managed to grab his dog and I also finally got my hands on Tomo's harness, and we both dragged them away. The owner leashed his dog immediately and we both checked our dogs for injuries. Tomo had 2 grazes on his head and a wet ruff, and I wanted to escape immediately, so I didn't pursue it farther. (At home I noticed 2 more cuts on his muzzle that bled a little, about an inch long.) 

He was understandably riled up so we moved to the grass for some down stay first. He calmed down after a few minutes of walking and sniffing, and then seemed his usual self. We came upon a lost chihuahua and Tomo was a little overly friendly -- probably because the dog was nervous. We waited for a few minutes, then thankfully the owner ran up. We also met a Shiba and they had a polite greeting before moving on.

It's quite common here to have dogs off-leash in non-dog play areas, as it's common courtesy to have your dog leashed if they are not under voice control. At places like dog beaches, the leash is a signal to let others owners know if your dog should not be approached by their dogs. So it was not a red flag that this dog was off leash and would be potential trouble. The dog did not give any warning signs that I could see, and before the attack I thought he looked mildly interested in greeting.


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## jomiel (Feb 15, 2019)

Some thoughts about the other dog:

This might be me cherry-picking details to bolster my previous theory, but the Rottweiler did not give any warning signals other than the lip curl just before the attack. When we encounter dogs who Tomo reacts to, the owners are often strong tall males who seem confident that they can handle their own dogs. The dogs are very obedient and calm, and don't have obvious body language (I cannot tell if they are friendly, happy, anxious, etc). 

Other than trying to avoid these owners and dogs -- and it is extremely hard to avoid them because they walk fast and don't read my signals that I'm trying to avoid them -- I am not sure what else I could do to avoid the situation. I suppose I can shout out "Stop! He's not friendly!" so they give us more space?? 

I've previously considered carrying mace or a stick (also for my personal safety), but not sure if I could have used them in this situation when they are already fighting together. I could have tossed the contents of my treat bag at them, but that would only have worked if I could have intervened earlier. 

Neutering and other male dogs:

I asked my trainer about her thoughts on neutering, and she said that she would actually not spay or neuter her dogs based on current research. She has said before that Tomo is a pretty dominant male dog, and he reacts really strongly to female puppies when they were starting their heat. He gets along great with females, puppies, and seniors, and not so great with males. 

Other dogs in the neighborhood or at park who don't get along with him (bark/growl at each other and posture) are all males in their prime. A golden on our block is 2-3 years older, and they got along just fine when he was a puppy, but starting around 1 year old they started barking and lunging at each other. 

Tomo does have a very strong metallic smell. My husband suggested that I research dog colognes to see if there are products similar to cat calming pheromones and maybe lessen his "maleness" smell... 

Future experiences and training:

We are out 3x a day everyday, and although I feel so bad about the incident, I also don't want to overcorrect (like having a firm rule not to meet any dogs) as it'll set up an impossible situation and Tomo doesn't get to enjoy his life. He gets such joy playing with his dog friends and making new dog friends. 

I plan to continue our training so he develops more neutral, calming behaviors so other dogs receive him better, decreasing the distance and intensity of his reactivity, and follow me automatically if I ask him to leave with me (this is important too because there are coyotes in the park and we have encountered them several times already this year).

I could work on my command to the other owner if I don't want our dogs to meet so they restrain their dog, alter their path, or gives us more time. 

I'm meeting up with our dog training group this afternoon and Sunday, and will see if they have any suggestions too.


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## jomiel (Feb 15, 2019)

Training update:

In addition to tricks and shaping we're doing for class, we still working hard at reactivity and behaviors that would improve his dog quality of life:

Down stays at the park:
This is anywhere from 20 sec to a few minutes during and at the end of our walks. Sometimes I have a hand towel as a mat, sometimes not. He's getting much better about quickly settling, taking a break to drink water, look more quickly away at things that catch his attention, enjoy a chew, etc.

Dog reactivity:
We are on looking at dogs, sitting, loose leash. He gets treats for looking calmly, looking away or back at me, and for leaving with me. He's much better about sitting and being more calm. It's still hard to listen if the dog is close, directly coming our way, or playing fetch or running hard, but overall he's so much better than a month ago. 

I plan to continue this outside, and also work more on the Watch command from Patricia McConnell when we're at home and in less distracting environments.

U turns / This way:
We are continuing to work on "this way!" for forks in the road. Will work on random direction walking more often.


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## jomiel (Feb 15, 2019)

Tonight I wanted to let Tomo meet up with one of the new training dog buddies, which was set at a dog park at 6:30pm. I agreed to go because it is later in the afternoon and it is cold again today, so there should be less dogs.

I wanted to set us up for success, so I stuffed my training pouch with lots of chicken jerky, and we went to Golden Gate Park for 30 minutes first. He seemed a little nervous even though we were in a different (but adjacent) section of the park than yesterday, wonder if he was remembering yesterday's incident. 

At Stern Grove, Tomo really wanted to meet dogs, but I kept the long line on and only allowed him to greet dogs who showed friendliness and came to greet first, and were walked by attentive owners. He had a lot of fun and played fetch for half an hour -- my training buddy had a smaller Chuck It and was amazed at how Tomo brought back the ball every time, so she kept throwing for him. 😂 I think she thought I was a little too strict to deny him certain dog interactions, but to me it's better to keep him safe from running after another dog and getting into trouble. No unsupervised/unreachable dog interactions...


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## diane0905 (Aug 20, 2010)

I would not be comfortable with large unfamiliar dogs just running up to my dog off leash. So much physical damage can happen so quickly if there is a fight and long lasting psychological damage can occur also.

For us, at 16 months, Logan can be put into a sit and let a dog walk by on the other side of the road. If the dog is being unruly, I create distance. He doesn't just sit doing a prolonged stare at the dog as the longer the stare, the more aroused they get. He's getting better about offering a look at me when he sees another dog. When he was still getting over aroused to the point he wasn't able to listen, I immediately turned and created distance. I'd give a firm this way to turn him and keep going whether he was still distracted or not. I found moving more quickly to get his attention and talking to him helped to get him moving with me.

It looks like you and Tomo are having a lot of fun together. It's great you are working with him so much.


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## jomiel (Feb 15, 2019)

diane0905 said:


> I would not be comfortable with large unfamiliar dogs just running up to my dog off leash. So much physical damage can happen so quickly if there is a fight and long lasting psychological damage can occur also.
> 
> For us, at 16 months, Logan can be put into a sit and let a dog walk by on the other side of the road. If the dog is being unruly, I create distance. He doesn't just sit doing a prolonged stare at the dog as the longer the stare, the more aroused they get. He's getting better about offering a look at me when he sees another dog. When he was still getting over aroused to the point he wasn't able to listen, I immediately turned and created distance. I'd give a firm this way to turn him and keep going whether he was still distracted or not. I found moving more quickly to get his attention and talking to him helped to get him moving with me.
> 
> It looks like you and Tomo are having a lot of fun together. It's great you are working with him so much.


Thank you for the feedback. Yes, I think letting me vet the dog and owner is key. I’ll keep working on Watch with him.


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## jomiel (Feb 15, 2019)

Yesterday we walked around the field and marina near work (despite working from home still, I go back regularly to feed the community cats there). It was a bit windy and very few people were walking about, and we did not meet any dogs. So we played fetch off-leash (dragging the long line) for a while, and Tomo was so attentive and so good most of the time. He just seems to thoroughly enjoy being out and being my partner when we're together alone outside. Like in a happy zen place.

Since he's so good about being calm there and I need to feed the cats all week, my plan is to spend a bit more time out there, so we can work on recalls and distance position changes on top of our usual sniffing walk.


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## jomiel (Feb 15, 2019)

This week as our walks are around work (low dog traffic area and more open space), we worked on checking in off leash (dragging his leash), did calm down stays, and played lots of fetch (in another month or so the foxtails will come in so we gotta play while we can!). He was great at checking in often and giving me a lot of attention as there's not much traffic and dog smells competing for attention, although I had to haul him by his harness away from the remains of a dead animal... But that's typical dog stuff, and I am super pleased about our work this week.

We did a bit of distance position changes (sit and down while he's on the long line), but as we haven't been practicing this at home it's understandably rusty while we're out.

Tomorrow our family will do a long walk together, so tonight I made homemade sourdough waffles for extra motivation treats -- it's super easy to stuff a couple in my pouch and quickly pinch off pieces while walking. I'll also try to remember to bring a Babybel cheese. I typically have different types of training treats and a Whimzee chew for variety, reward level, and calm stays for the chew, but for more challenging situations I like to bring human food.

I'm going to take a month break from our Zoom classes, and brush up on some commands/tricks. He likes doing fun tricks when he thinks we're alone, so I used that today to lure him away from an approaching dog in the neighborhood. Things to work on next week:

position changes at a distance
peekaboo
across/switch for heel position changes
I never managed to get a good bow, and I read somewhere that a reliable bow is great as a dog greeting to diffuse tension as it's invitation for play and better than a neutral sit


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## jomiel (Feb 15, 2019)

Photos this week:


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## jomiel (Feb 15, 2019)

Video of Tomo looking cute walking and with a ball in his mouth (a still is in the previous post):


__
http://instagr.am/p/CNZfDMjp0bg/


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## jomiel (Feb 15, 2019)

On Saturday and Sunday we walked again in the area near work. They were nice sunny days so there were some people and dogs around. Tomo did well and walked along with me when 2 greyhounds passed on the other side of the road. 

After walking so nicely in the business park, I decided to go on the bay trail where there are people fishing, families biking, and sometimes dogs on leash. In retrospect he was already excited and pulling me towards the more popular area, so not a good desensitization setup -- but at the time I was thinking that it's such a nice day, he always enjoys the breeze along the bay, he could sniff the sea air and watch the seagulls. 

As he was excited, I walked a big curve around an oncoming dog. He was a bit frustrated at having to go with me and whined as we walked around. I gave treats but he half-heartedly took them. 

Later when we were playing fetch and then resting on a grassy hill, another golden was walking by about 20-30 yards away. Tomo listened to my sit command but could not stop staring and barely took treats, though he did not pull to meet. 

Thoughts:
Although it's great to walk and train in the quiet area near work, for desensitization and socialization purposes, I think it could be TOO quiet. There's very little other distractions from the thing he's staring at. In Golden Gate Park, there are a lot of smells, joggers, mountain bikes, many possible dogs to look at, etc. So I think it is helpful in building up behaviors to lower his threshold. 

I shouldn't seek to protect him, but I should try to set up situations so success is easy. I will text my training partners and see if anyone wants to work on greetings with me. In previous classes, the human-dog pairs would approach, stop a few yards apart, the humans exchange greetings, and if the dogs are sitting and calm, then they are released to go say hi, and a couple of seconds we then leave and try again.


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## jomiel (Feb 15, 2019)

I drove by my husband and Tomo walking around the block -- was very much reminded that Tomo is still young and full of zeal about life. (He has such a pep in his step!) It's hard when I'm being dragged by the leash, but I should be mindful to let him enjoy and have fun, and not force him to behave like a calm senior dog 🙃

Yesterday we were in the park and his long leash got away from me -- he visited a couple of girls on their picnic blanket (one was happy and the other screamed), and then started to run towards a dog fetching his ball. I yelled at him to come back, and to my amazement, he actually looked over his shoulder and came back to me! I was too amped up to praise him effusively, but did give him a treat jackpot. Pretty happy that the recall worked in that instance.


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## jomiel (Feb 15, 2019)

Thinking about what other fun things we could train on. Other than "Bow," the other thing that would be super fun at home would be retrieving my slippers. 

I think this is how the shaping sequence might go?
Offering a slipper and "Take it" 
"Drop it" with slipper
Coming to me after I back away a few steps
Place slipper on floor in front of him and wait for him to volunteer to pick it up
Associate the pick up with "Slipper" command


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## jomiel (Feb 15, 2019)

We’ve been jogging a little when we’re in the park, to have fun when we’re putting distance from other dogs and to get a bit more exercise in (for both of us).

Yesterday he had a quick swim:









He’s always so happy to swim, and would go back into the water again and again. He would jump into every body of water if I'd let him.

We met a couple of nice dogs for friendly greetings. Then we ran into his buddy, a 9 month old golden girl. They usually play well but were kind of crazy this time. Apparently she just finished her first heat so maybe Tomo could still smell it on her? We both had to haul our dogs away, and said hurried goodbyes that we’ll keep our distance until next week 😅 I think we were forcibly reminded that she is growing up fast and Tomo is an intact male and VERY attuned to the ladies. (During classes pre-covid he would alert everyone that a girl was about to come into heat...) I had to keep him in a down stay for a while until he could think clearly again, and then we ran a bit to finish the walk.


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## jomiel (Feb 15, 2019)

I didn't sign up for classes this round so we've been a little more relaxed, and Tomo's excitement humping has returned... I think he is bored without training at least 30 min a day at home 😂

Yesterday we did 2 quick sessions running through stays, distance position changes, high five, kiss, roll over, beg, peekaboo, come. One session was because he was trying to hump me during yoga practice and I got him to do 10 commands without a visible treat (we then ran over to grab the treat bag), so he's definitely motivated to have some one-on-one attention.

Earlier this week I started to do the first step of object retrieve shaping -- by having him take a slipper on command. It was harder than I thought it would be. He didn't want to hold the slipper at all.
I backed up and used some objects I thought would have lower barriers to being held: plastic and silicone lids for pet food. This worked, and he was fairly good about "take it" and "drop it."
Then I had him stay after "take it" and called him to me. This worked a few times until he started walking away from me with the object before the recall.
I think this is totally my fault due to cue confusion, because I already use "take it" when we play with tug toys and when I give him chews. It is a release word to mean that he can now have it.
So I am going to practice this step again and use the cue word "hold" to mean hold it in your mouth until "drop it." I will start off with the silicone food lid, then move to a neutral object (a bumper that we haven't played much with). For now, I will avoid objects that he already has an associated action, like boxes, toilet paper rolls, socks, stuffies, etc.

It's amazing to me that he picks up new training so fast, and any set back or confusion is because I haven't clearly thought through my cues and process!


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## jomiel (Feb 15, 2019)

Update from this past week:
We added another short walk in the evenings after dinner around 9pm. This helps greatly with his excitement humping during my yoga sessions around 10pm.

We've been practicing our repertoire of commands and tricks. Recall from the backyard into the house is pretty reliable now. Position changes at a distance is still moderately hard. For peekaboo and across (walk into heel position), we haven't practice enough that he understands the verbal command. But it makes sense that progress is slow as we'll only do a few at a time, he gets tired and loses interest.

One of our afternoon walks this week was 1.5 miles, a little warm but weather app said 66 F. He was a bit tired at the end and paused to lay down on the grass to rest lol. He overheats and is a little lazy -- a great fit for me, otherwise I'll have to really work hard to get him the exercise he needs  ...We can definitely get fit together, I think he would enjoy trail running.

Yesterday we met up with one of the training dog friends at the beach at 7pm, so there weren't as many dogs around. He loves to fetch and then immediately take the ball into the surf so he can enjoy his ball in the water 😂 We had a great time!

When we were leaving though there was a barky dog across the street and another large dog was coming in, so Tomo was very quickly over threshold and lunged/growled at the large dog. I slipped on the sand since he was pulling so hard. When we joined our dog friend across the street, Tomo was okay again, so it's great that he calms down quicker in the presence of a happy-go-lucky puppy.


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## jomiel (Feb 15, 2019)

Tomo and Poppy at the beach:



















Digging a nice hole for the ball:


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## jomiel (Feb 15, 2019)

I was reviewing Tomo's puppy thread and am really happy about our journey and how he's grown to be such a good dog. We still have our ups and downs each day, but he's a good boy -- curious, courageous, silly, loving, and full of zest for life and new adventures.

Yesterday I realized that I forgot to refill his upstairs kibble canister upstairs when I was mixing his dinner (raw food + kibble). So I asked him to get on his bed and stay, rewarded him with a small piece of raw rabbit grind, and told him to stay again. Then I got another kibble canister from the garage and walked back upstairs. He was still in his stay, so I gave him a jackpot of a few pieces of rabbit, and then went back to fixing his dinner. He can be really focused in times like this!

Of course when I'm doing burpees or jumping jacks during my exercise regimen, it's just too tempting to jump all over me and try to hump me 🥴 And there's still a long list of fun tricks but also safety things like self control and his arousal threshold (reactivity to other dogs, not sprinting off after a bird, etc), and of course desensitization things like ear cleaning and feet fur trimming. So I will still continue to train! But compared to last year when I had to walk him full-time after entering covid restrictions, when he would drag me down the street and I would be in tears half the time from stress! -- he is much more responsive to me and we have such a better relationship together! And I want to keep developing our trust and bond.

I have a huuuuge stack of dog training books to read, but right now I'm listening the audiobook Bones Would Rain From the Sky by Suzanne Clothier, and it's so sad but so good.


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## jomiel (Feb 15, 2019)

Hiking around the beach cliffs (Heading down is apparently the wrong way on this hill but we were so close to getting back... A bit after this photo he was zealous in his descent and slid on the hill 😱 At least when I fell a short while later, he actually turned back to see if I was okay):









Hiked up a very long fire road to the ridge at the top, and we enjoyed the windy top and saw South SF on the other side:









He loves digging holes in sandy areas, and dug himself a very large hole he could lay his entire body in:


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## jomiel (Feb 15, 2019)

Trying new routes in Pacifica last night. He loves standing on the edge of cliffs and really lean into the foggy sea wind  

The wooded hills in the foggy background is a great hiking spot (Pedro Point), not as many dogs and lots of shade before we pop up top.


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## jomiel (Feb 15, 2019)

I ordered a running fanny pack to carry some first aid and supplies with us as we're doing more walks in less popular areas and it would be good to have more than just the bare minimum.

What I usually carry on me (in addition to treats, poop bags, water, and a ball):

comb, hemostat (as tweezers), and small scissors - to check for burrs, foxtails, ticks, etc
whistle and pepper gel spray - these are for me

What I'd like to carry for longer walks:

eyewash
self adhering bandage wrap
EMT gel
gauze, nonstick bandage
balloon dog booties
hand towel, some pet/baby wipes
things for me like bandages, meds, etc.

I'll continue researching for anything that would be helpful immediately before we get to the emergency vet. Maybe also an emergency contacts card in case I am the one who is incapacitated.


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## jomiel (Feb 15, 2019)

I had my pack all ready but ran into something last Thurs that I didn't expect!

I've been doing some off-leash recalls with Tomo around my office park next to the little marina as there are not too many dogs or people around -- he drags around the long line so I can still step on it or grab it in a hurry. We were walking on the bay trail just before the marina, and doing some fetches, recalls, and general sniffing/walking around. I go to toss his poop bag, and out of the corner of my eye I see the orange long line move down the rocky sea wall... It was a windy day and some seagulls are hovering in the wind close to the path, and Tomo decided to go for a swim to try to catch them!










I called him as loud as I could, but it's too windy plus he's too excited. He did see/hear me a few times, but he would come and touch the shore before quickly turning back into the water. I was super worried about his long line catching on something, but he's a much stronger swimmer than me, so I have my doubts about jumping in the choppy water unless I see that he's truly in trouble. I try to keep calling him, waving my arms, and watch him closely as I follow him along the coast.










He swam/got pushed by the current to the fishing pier. A fisherman and his kids noticed us and came to help. The man grabbed him by his harness at the edge of the rocks, and hauled him out of the water. I was soooo relieved and grateful for their help. Tomo must have been tired despite having a great time, he had a bit of trouble scrambling over the rocks. I think he was in the water for about 15-20 minutes, and water temp here is about 55F this time of year (though it never gets too warm, usually 50-60). I've swam in the bay with a wetsuit and it always takes a lot out of me.

After calming down from his excitement, he takes a chew from me and rolls around in the grass to get dry. The fisherman went back to fishing already, so I gave his kids some candy I had in my pack and all the cash I had, wish I had more to thank them for rescuing my heart dog.

Here he is a few minutes after on our way back to the car, he is soooo happy and pleased with himself 










Not sure if this incident means I should carry around a length of rope to lasso him??? But what I do know is that he'll never be off leash again next to water unless I'm okay with him jumping in....


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## jomiel (Feb 15, 2019)

For a less crazy training update, we've been working on putting on his harness before walks with less fuss (I think it's a combination of not liking something going over his big head, and playing a being-chased game). 

Also he randomly put his front paws on the sink counter when we were in the bathroom at my brother's house, and I had my treat bag on me so I jackpot that cute move. We then did more of it on bar stools and desks that night. I think it'll make for cute photo-ready poses and also good for handling if necessary, so will continue to practice this trick.


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## diane0905 (Aug 20, 2010)

I'm sure that scared you! Sorry about your happening experience. One time when my last Golden, Luke, was young I had him down near our pond off leash. He ran and jumped into the water off our dock and that was his first swimming experience. It's dark water, so I couldn't see him. He was seven months old. I stood there thinking I hope the heck you are a natural swimmer because I knew in 10 seconds I'd be in there (understand why you couldn't -- smart decision on your part.) Luke popped up none the worse for the wear. I had to haul him up though and some man was watching me like I was an idiot. 

I think you're wise to keep him on his lead around there from now on.

A front command should help him come to you to walk into his harness. Abby (my Cavalier) will dodge her harness if I don't notice her tag dangling down near the head hole.


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## jomiel (Feb 15, 2019)

Oh wow! That is super scary too, when he was 7 months old and his first time swimming! I guess he really had a natural instinct for water! 

Most of the times when he's in water, everyone loves to watch and think it's really funny. Dogs bring everyone so much joy!  One time he got loose near the shallow end of this area and alternated between diving into the water and running full speed along the swampy sandy shore to chase at seagulls. That was another 20 minutes of his top 5 fun experiences 😂 (That area is much safer though, the only danger is if he ran far up the shore to the highway shoulder, so I was more mad than scared.)


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## jomiel (Feb 15, 2019)

I'll look up the front command, thank you for the suggestion!!


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## jomiel (Feb 15, 2019)

We've been busy this month, so many things to catch up for this thread! Overall, training is going great, and we are working on building skills and decreasing anxiety/fear, so Tomo has more confidence and good experiences. I'm also learning to be more confident in my training, to learn to read Tomo's feelings better, to make choices that strengthen our relationship rather than forcing him to make hard choices he's not prepared to make. 

A few reads/listens that really impacted my approach this time:

- Feisty Fido by Patricia McConnell and Karen London. This time I read it again with a highlighter! We do Watch several times we see another dog, and I'm much more careful about the level of difficulty and arousal distance.

- Canine Conversations, a Dogcast (now called K9 Conservationists). I'm working my way through the older episodes, and particularly episode 3 about preventing reactivity and aggression was super helpful. This really changed my mindset about greeting strange dogs -- @aesthetic, you are totally right! I previously thought Tomo enjoyed meeting dogs, and how can he improve his greetings if he doesn't practice them?? But it's totally true that he actually doesn't find joy in greetings. He has a compulsion to meet and sniff them, but he only really likes the other dog maybe 5-10% of the time. I've been working hard to avoid other dogs and keeping them at quite a distance, unless they're dogs we've met and he likes, or I really think he'll like them and I confirm with the other owner (usually playful females or puppies). Besides avoiding most dogs, and working on Watch with the assistance of smelly treats to turn his head if I get the distance slightly wrong, we also work on incompatible behaviors (also in the Feisty Fido book) with a squeaky ball. 

- Bones Would Rain From the Sky by Suzanne Clothier. I'm listening to this on Audible and only 3 chapters in, but it really reinforced that our relationship with our dogs is everything, and how choices we make can make or break a dog's heart. A little sappy and more a memoir than a training guide so far.


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## jomiel (Feb 15, 2019)

This week we were down to the last No-Hide Chew and I decided to do a training session going to the pet food store instead of a fun outing that we usually do after work. The store is super stimulating and we've also had many training classes there when he was a puppy, so he has a lot of emotions associated with the place.

I parked a bit farther in the mall area, and we practiced Watch as we walked the long way around toward the store. As we approached the front, Tomo started growling at the dog adoption posters 😂 I called him away and we walked a different direction around the block. I mostly let him sniff and chill out.

We approached the store again, and as we're practicing Watch and being calm in the grassy area, a couple and their dog goes into the shop. The dog seemed young and interested in Tomo, so we retreat and this time went to the bank across the street. We do a bit of tricks in front, and when the dog came out of the shop, we practiced Look at That Dog and Watch me.

On our third time at the front of the store, Tomo plopped himself on to the grass and looked up at me, ready for his calm time chew  (I usually stick a dental chew in my pouch and we'll hang out in a grassy/sitting spot for a few minutes.) This was an exciting surprise! I rewarded him for the great choice to relax in a previously stressful situation.

We go into the store and he was on his best behavior. I did interrupted him before he marked a spot and also he decided to sample some dehydrated chicken hearts (after smelling but not eating a whole row of rawhide and biscuits), but these are pretty common behaviors in the pet food store so no biggie. No dogs came in or approached when we left. We then walked around the mall area a bit more to sniff and greet people he liked.

It took more than an hour to get into the store, but I am super pleased at how it went! I always knew that he gets a bit tired after walking around for 45 minutes, but I was really happy that he learned all on his own that he has other choices that may be more rewarding! I think the trip built a lot of confidence for both of us


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## jomiel (Feb 15, 2019)

Helping to pick out new flooring









Asking nicely to jump back into the bay (the answer is still No 😤)


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## jomiel (Feb 15, 2019)

We didn't practice the Front command, but the behavior around putting the harness over his head is a lot better. I just backed way up and treated handsomely for each step of acclamation -- treat if he'll come close when I have the harness in my hand, treat for coming even closer, treat if taking it from the hand in the harness loop, etc. I also did this in a different room than the tight spot in front of the door.

The "up up" word cue seems to be already associated as "jump up here," so I'll have to pick a different cue for "place your paws up on furniture." Will see if "pose" is a better word cue for this.


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## jomiel (Feb 15, 2019)

This week we're continuing to work on Watch with birds, super loud traffic noises, other dogs, etc. We are on to easy to moderate difficulty situations, hopefully we'll train enough that I only need to reinforce easy ones occasionally and we can spend more time on the moderate stuff. 

This weekend we started working on Touch. I haven't been good about doing Touch at a distance, and also confusing it with Kiss when I want him to lick me. So we are working on doing Touch properly (but with the "Kiss" cue word), and when this is good then I'll use the "Touch" cue word with the same hand signal, and then I'll work on "Kiss" again.


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## jomiel (Feb 15, 2019)

Yesterday our office had our first welcome back in-person event after 16 months. I brought Tomo to the party and he did great considering there were about 50 people at the happy hour.

I was armed with a pouch full of chicken jerky and dental chews. We strolled around outside and ate a chew before going in. A few coworkers came down to the lobby and we did some sit greeting (after first jumping up excitedly) and he calmed down sufficiently while we were chatting. We went up the elevator (Tomo looked stoic but was too nervous to take treats), then went into the party. Another golden was there and he had a great time greeting people. Very proud he did not jump on the buffet table that was full of chicken skewers, cheese, and crackers. I gave him another chew when he settled, and had people give him treats if he was good at greeting them.

I totally forgot to take photos of him and his new buddy (a 3.5 year old female), but their photos made it to our company meeting today 😂










I'm going on a hike with some coworkers tomorrow, but he'll stay home with my husband, as it's been pretty hot in the Bay Area (over 80F) and he doesn't really have stamina to walk more than 2 or 3 miles anyways.


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## jomiel (Feb 15, 2019)

Oh, another great training development -- he's much calmer when we go out the door and we're both standing on the front landing before we start our walk or get into the car. 

He used to be really vigilant and excited, and have dragged me down the steps to either greet people passing by or lunge at other dogs. Now we will step out, he'll look at the street but wait at the landing when I lock the door, and then I wait for him to look at me before I say Okay and we step down. We've been lucky with no big dogs passing by, but he's also more calm and responsive for me to be ready. So that's really really great that we're developing our communication and he's being a more polite dog in return


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## jomiel (Feb 15, 2019)

This week we continued to work on Watch, he's improved in our connection and increased attentiveness when the distractions are mild to moderate.

Yesterday while in the park, he asked nicely to go swim and it was a very quiet evening, so I took off his long line and let him swim. We also practiced a couple of recalls when he's on his way back and then I would release him to go swim again. 










We've been practicing Touch (he's now switched fully to this cue word), Around, and other little tricks at home.

Annoyingly, he's become scared of the hair dryer, so I'm restarting our desensitization process for household objects.


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