Forgive me if this kind of post isn’t allowed.
I wanted to ask people what was new going on with their pets, if they had maybe learned something about them, or maybe just gotten one. Just two examples.
For my part, I have two adopted boys (Champion and Bowser) and had to, a couple years ago, move back in with my mom and now we share a house with her and her two dogs. Champion has always had a lot of behavioral challenges, which led to me doing extra work at my previous job to learn how to train him better (I worked at a doggy daycare and we had to also learn how to train dogs.)
But somewhere along the way between moving to a new place and having to work with him to teach him it was okay for the other dogs to play together (among various other things I’ve had to help him learn), Champ lost interest in most things other than a bit of play outside (he’s still a bit rough around the edges there too) and sleeping on my bed. He’s very difficult to walk because of his anxiety, too.
However!
Recently he started showing interest in a rope toy and when I picked it up and waved it, he grabbed onto the other end and started to pull. We had a great, really long session of tug-o-war and he was really worn out by the end. I’ve managed to replicate it several times now and it’s given me a lot of hope for not just play time, but that he might be able to do things like walks in the future again.
What’s going on in everyone else’s pet parent lives?
Tug is hands down one of the best bonding games, I’m glad he’s playing it with you. Get it, Champ!
Our Australian shepherd Sudo loves running through our woods, but he always comes back with twigs and things tangled in his fur. Having them removed and getting out the knots they create has never been a thing he’s enjoyed, but he’s been getting so much better about it since we started treating it like a cooperative care activity instead of something we have to do to him. I’ll still have to ask to do it sometimes, but he’s been coming up to me and rolling over to show me the sticks he’s collected more and more often. He even fell asleep the other day during the brushing afterwards!
yes! Bowser likes fetch but only a little, he much prefers to hold a tennis ball in his mouth while one of my mom’s dogs plays with him. I’m hoping to get him and my mom’s very skittish dog Maggie out for walks now that it’s nicer out (Maggie loves being outside, she’s just fearful.)
ooo, can you explain “cooperative care activity” a bit? I feel like even though I was a professional, I’m such a novice at training and dog care.
I think this article does a great job explaining it and provides a training game to teach the skills. The basics of it involve giving your dog the opportunity to earn good treats for tolerating grooming tasks we have to do like nail trims or brushing our mats and knots, and teaching them that they can choose whether the activity (and associated treats) continues.
In the beginning it’s important to structure it so the dog learns that focusing on the treat container regardless of what we’re doing is what earns the treat, so actually clipping nails or pulling combs through is right out. Instead it’s about mimicking the motions we’ll be doing as part of the grooming and working up to using the comb, brush, clippers, or swabs.
“You have agency” is sometimes a tough thing to teach a dog, but in this regard you can make a lot of progress towards that understanding by stopping the activity when your dog expresses discomfort and only resuming if they go back to focusing on the treat container. If they’re done, you’re done - but you can always ask if they’ll play the grooming game again later. “Pat, Pet, Pause” is another small game that can help your dog understand that you’ll respect when they give or rescind consent for things you’re doing.
saving this article for later! thank you much.
Champion does shockingly well with the groomer (related, I know you can’t go to the groomer every time your dog goes running through the woods, of course!) I picked for him, but she’s a very kind and gentle person, especially with dogs. he likes her a lot, which I’m very grateful for. that said, working with my dogs is something I enjoy so I think exposing him to the stuff in the article (and Bowser too) would be beneficial anyway.