Peach: Day 16

When she arrived 16 days ago, Peach was hyper-excited around food, and she tried to take food away from Glimmer. Sharing was not in her repertoire. But, while she is still on leash for the exercise, Peach has finally figured out that if she remains calm and patience, she will get her share. She still gets very excited around food, but she’s made phenomenal progress learning and practicing patience. I’m very pleased with how far she’s come.

On the walk, Peach is slowly improving. She seems to be responding fairly well to the short traffic lead, and she’s even checked in with me occasionally during the training walk. When she’s over-stimulated, frustrated, or going through extinction bursts, Peach is still jumping at me and trying to shove her nose into sensitive areas. However, these behaviors are slowly but steadily decreasing in both frequency and intensity as she learns new, more polite ways to communicate.

Overall, Peach’s behavior is slowly but steadily beginning to change for the better. She’s a stubborn girl; she isn’t giving up her previous unwanted behaviors easily. She’s learned that she gets what she wants, when she wants it, by practicing certain behaviors. She’s not willing to surrender those patterns just yet. But, with time, patience, and consistency with corrections, she’ll eventually figure out that she’s not making the rules anymore.

Have a great day, everyone. Remember to stay calm and lead on.