Erratic behaviour of the Rosie Roo
Jun. 25th, 2014 12:41 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
bunnI've been trying hard to work on Rosie Roo's behaviour with other dogs, and also coming when called. Yesterday we practiced lots with the longline and a selection of treats (Rosie gets bored if you keep giving her the same treat. I have to make sure the bag contains at least 4 different items...)
So today I thought we'd go and do some offlead practice. Walk started slightly alarmingly when we set off along a track only to find three dogs coming the other way, and I didn't manage to call her back from them. But fortunately they were old and sensible, and ignored her prancing and grumbling and in the end greetings went well. So far so good. We proceeded onwards for about a mile doing lots of recall practice and hide and seek. Hurray! Dogs that come back!
Met up with Lyn-the-dog-walker and her motley assorted pack. Brythen finds them a bit OTT, but Rosie seems to like them so we walked on together for a bit doing social skills practice (Brythen retiring behind a bush when he felt shy.) Met some tiny floofy shi tzus. Rosie decided that Tiny Floofy Dogs Are Terrifying!!!, and fled to the hills. I had to chase after her and get her on lead. But at least she didn't leap on them growling. Back to walking on-lead.
Met a pair of bouncy young poodles. All went well. Hurray! Met an ancient greyhound gentleman. For some reason she decided the ancient greyhound was VERY EVIL and grumped and growled so I took her away to a safe distance - where we were rushed by a labrador and a staffie. I would have guessed that she would grump at the staffie, who was fat and cheerful and a bit wiggly - but no. Madam staffie is welcome to exchange sniffs. Hurray! (I wonder, is it boys she is more cautious of? Must observe further and see if it is.)
Finally we got back to the gate, where someone was allowing his offlead Leonbergers (huge brown hairy dogs) to wander around the car park. At this point, I made a tactical error. I now see that when I saw the Leonbergers from the gate, I could simply have taken my dogs off behind a bush or something, until the Leons had gone past. Or I could have called to the Leon owner over the fence to ask him to put his dogs on lead before I came through (I know him slightly, I'm sure he would have been helpful if I'd asked him).
But I did not. I went into the car park, where the male Leon stared at us. I think I made another strategic error there: I waited, hoping he would move, and tried to give Rosie a treat, which she ignored because she was busy giving the Leon the Sneaky Saluki Stare of Death. Possibly if I'd powered straight through to the car, I'd have been OK.
Anyway, the inevitable happened:the Leon came inquisitively towering up to Rosie, who quite obviously felt intimidated, and tore a lump out of his giant floofy trousers. Fortunately that Leon is a very soft dog, so he just squealed and ran away. But that was definitely a set-back and a bad experience. Annoyed with myself that I could have seen it coming and prevented it. Oh well. Do better next time, inadequate dog trainer bunn.
That was a very dog-rich walk. We might do a Secret Woods walk this evening, to allow her to come down a bit from the stress.
So today I thought we'd go and do some offlead practice. Walk started slightly alarmingly when we set off along a track only to find three dogs coming the other way, and I didn't manage to call her back from them. But fortunately they were old and sensible, and ignored her prancing and grumbling and in the end greetings went well. So far so good. We proceeded onwards for about a mile doing lots of recall practice and hide and seek. Hurray! Dogs that come back!
Met up with Lyn-the-dog-walker and her motley assorted pack. Brythen finds them a bit OTT, but Rosie seems to like them so we walked on together for a bit doing social skills practice (Brythen retiring behind a bush when he felt shy.) Met some tiny floofy shi tzus. Rosie decided that Tiny Floofy Dogs Are Terrifying!!!, and fled to the hills. I had to chase after her and get her on lead. But at least she didn't leap on them growling. Back to walking on-lead.
Met a pair of bouncy young poodles. All went well. Hurray! Met an ancient greyhound gentleman. For some reason she decided the ancient greyhound was VERY EVIL and grumped and growled so I took her away to a safe distance - where we were rushed by a labrador and a staffie. I would have guessed that she would grump at the staffie, who was fat and cheerful and a bit wiggly - but no. Madam staffie is welcome to exchange sniffs. Hurray! (I wonder, is it boys she is more cautious of? Must observe further and see if it is.)
Finally we got back to the gate, where someone was allowing his offlead Leonbergers (huge brown hairy dogs) to wander around the car park. At this point, I made a tactical error. I now see that when I saw the Leonbergers from the gate, I could simply have taken my dogs off behind a bush or something, until the Leons had gone past. Or I could have called to the Leon owner over the fence to ask him to put his dogs on lead before I came through (I know him slightly, I'm sure he would have been helpful if I'd asked him).
But I did not. I went into the car park, where the male Leon stared at us. I think I made another strategic error there: I waited, hoping he would move, and tried to give Rosie a treat, which she ignored because she was busy giving the Leon the Sneaky Saluki Stare of Death. Possibly if I'd powered straight through to the car, I'd have been OK.
Anyway, the inevitable happened:the Leon came inquisitively towering up to Rosie, who quite obviously felt intimidated, and tore a lump out of his giant floofy trousers. Fortunately that Leon is a very soft dog, so he just squealed and ran away. But that was definitely a set-back and a bad experience. Annoyed with myself that I could have seen it coming and prevented it. Oh well. Do better next time, inadequate dog trainer bunn.
That was a very dog-rich walk. We might do a Secret Woods walk this evening, to allow her to come down a bit from the stress.
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no subject
Date: 2014-06-25 06:55 pm (UTC)I'll say.
Hindsight is a pain in the bum, always turning up too late and waggling its finger reproachfully at you...
But it does sound as if Rosie was doing rather well until the huge hairy Leonbergers - and huge hairy Leonbergers would disconcert many dogs.
no subject
Date: 2014-06-25 09:34 pm (UTC)When I go looking for dogs I often can't find any, whereas when I'm thinking 'OK, that's enough dogs for now' they seem to come out of the woodwork all over.