We had an appointment this morning to get Frodo's 3 year Rabies vaccine. I was a little worried about everything, but did my best to stay calm so that Frodo wouldn't feel the need to freak out. When we got there I left him in the car while I went to check in. I asked if it was okay if I stayed outside with Frodo until his appointment as he doesn't always get along with other dogs (plus, I have no clue what diseases/illnesses the other pets in the waiting room might have!) and she said that was fine and she would come out and get us when it was our turn. Perfect.
I went out and got Frodo out of the car. At first he was quite overwhelmed with all of the smells available! He was a little too stressed/sniffy to take treats reliably, so we just kind of hung out in the shade. Then a dog came out of the office to go potty and as soon as Frodo saw it he was like "Mom! There's a dog, feed me!!!" which I was more than happy to oblige.
It's weird. I almost feel as though he wasn't sure what was expected of him until he saw the other dog and then his brain went 'Hey, I know how this works!'
We saw a few other dogs coming in and out of the vets, and he didn't show any signs of wanting to react to any of them *click/treat*
And we waited...for 35 minutes! That's right, they forgot we were out there. Which caused me to eventually be 15 minutes late for my shift today *facepalm*
When I finally decided that they had forgotten about us I decided to take Frodo in to let them know that we were still waiting. So we walked in and there was a panting/whining weim, a little poodle puppy, a few other way too fat dogs, and Frodo....didn't care. At all. We stepped off to the side to talk to the receptionist and he just chilled. Still focused and obeyed commands, took treats easily. I was *so* proud! He even made friends with the lady in the chair next to us!!
The exam went fine, the vet was awesome and moved slow. Vet techs loved him. Managed to do temp, physical exam, draw blood, and give two shots without so much as a growl. He wasn't happy or exactly confident, but he did better than I was expecting.
So that was our morning adventure, then we had an evening adventure as well...
(I am just going to copy and paste this from one of my dog forums as I'm too tired to retype it out, who knew dog training could be so tiring!)
I ran home and got Frodo when the 6:30 class was ending and when I got back some of the dogs from the 7:30 class were starting to get there. Frodo did a little low growling, but nothing close to a full blown reaction. We kept our distance from the other dogs and did easy stuff like hand targets, sits, downs, etc and his focus was spot on.
Then I did a stupid thing. There was a woman in the 6:30 class that I told I would give my easy walk harness to since I didn't use it. I knew her dog was over the top playful, built on springs, but I just caught her when she was going to her car so went over, got way too close with Frodo to her dog and he had a reaction. Duh, duh, duh Lauren *multiple facepalm*
The first thing the trainer did for the 7:30 class was to take the dogs out in the play yard for off-leash time. Frodo and I stood outside the gate and I rewarded him for relaxing. Which he did just fine, though got uneasy and growly if the dogs on the other side of the fence started to run around fast. Movement is DEFINITELY a trigger for him, and a hard one for me to set up a controlled environment with. So he did have reactions, but his rebound was very good.
Then we went inside and I kept Frodo in the office area (gated off from main area with a 3 foot door/gate) while the other dogs were in the main part of the building. Frodo did great so we moved out into the main part and he still did great!!! Neighbor dogs were about 6-10 feet away and he was fine with them. Not growly or anything.
I was even able to sit on the floor and feed Frodo and Violet (a very stable, awesome little Boston Terrier) at the same time! We had one time when another dog in class tried to approach Frodo and I body blocked her from him, which I think did more harm then good. He only growled, but I think I should have just moved away and called him to me.
Before leaving, the owners of a lab/poodle mix weren't really paying attention and let him walk/pull towards Frodo, and he growled. They pulled him back and a little while later he did it again and Frodo growled again. My trainer did say though after class that a lot of Frodo's reactions (not full blown reactions, but his growling) is appropriate for the situations that he is in. He doesn't make a mountain out of a molehill, so to speak.
Anywho, that is how it went. I am hoping that her next set of classes has a group that I feel comfortable enough to bring him with me again. He really did well and I am ecstatic at the idea that I may actually be able to bring Frodo into a class environment, which means that I can *gasp* take classes
Last but not least, one of the students made cookies for everybody! And she made a bag for Frodo even (she must have talked to my trainer, I don't know how she knew I was bringing him!), and he also got a squeaky toy like all the other dogs who graduated the class (special treatment I guess,
). There were human cookies, and then Oatmeal and Peach, and Cinnamon and Carrot dog cookies. She even included the recipes so I can make them again!
Then I did a stupid thing. There was a woman in the 6:30 class that I told I would give my easy walk harness to since I didn't use it. I knew her dog was over the top playful, built on springs, but I just caught her when she was going to her car so went over, got way too close with Frodo to her dog and he had a reaction. Duh, duh, duh Lauren *multiple facepalm*
The first thing the trainer did for the 7:30 class was to take the dogs out in the play yard for off-leash time. Frodo and I stood outside the gate and I rewarded him for relaxing. Which he did just fine, though got uneasy and growly if the dogs on the other side of the fence started to run around fast. Movement is DEFINITELY a trigger for him, and a hard one for me to set up a controlled environment with. So he did have reactions, but his rebound was very good.
Then we went inside and I kept Frodo in the office area (gated off from main area with a 3 foot door/gate) while the other dogs were in the main part of the building. Frodo did great so we moved out into the main part and he still did great!!! Neighbor dogs were about 6-10 feet away and he was fine with them. Not growly or anything.
I was even able to sit on the floor and feed Frodo and Violet (a very stable, awesome little Boston Terrier) at the same time! We had one time when another dog in class tried to approach Frodo and I body blocked her from him, which I think did more harm then good. He only growled, but I think I should have just moved away and called him to me.
Before leaving, the owners of a lab/poodle mix weren't really paying attention and let him walk/pull towards Frodo, and he growled. They pulled him back and a little while later he did it again and Frodo growled again. My trainer did say though after class that a lot of Frodo's reactions (not full blown reactions, but his growling) is appropriate for the situations that he is in. He doesn't make a mountain out of a molehill, so to speak.
Anywho, that is how it went. I am hoping that her next set of classes has a group that I feel comfortable enough to bring him with me again. He really did well and I am ecstatic at the idea that I may actually be able to bring Frodo into a class environment, which means that I can *gasp* take classes
Last but not least, one of the students made cookies for everybody! And she made a bag for Frodo even (she must have talked to my trainer, I don't know how she knew I was bringing him!), and he also got a squeaky toy like all the other dogs who graduated the class (special treatment I guess,
). There were human cookies, and then Oatmeal and Peach, and Cinnamon and Carrot dog cookies. She even included the recipes so I can make them again!I am *so* proud of my boy today. He's currently zonked out next to me while I type this, and he's not going anywhere!
Yay! I'm so glad your hard work is paying off!