Daisy: End of Week One

Daisy’s first week with us has been quite the roller coaster – for her, and for us. She arrived stressed and shut down, and she was so afraid of me that she shook like a leaf in a wind storm every time I so much as looked at her. Now, at the end of her first week, many things have changed for the better, and while we still have a long way to go, Daisy is finally starting to show some trust and gain some confidence.

Potty training/house-breaking: 100%. Alerts every time she needs to go, no in-house accidents.

Leash manners: 40%. Engagement: 70%. Daisy is still pulling hard, but she’s checking in almost every time we stop moving. She is determined to be ahead, to go where she wants when she wants; following or even walking nicely beside is extremely challenging for her.

Reactivity: 10%-15%. Daisy is highly reactive to almost everything. She lunges, barks, growls, and pulls like a demon on the lead when she’s triggered. She doesn’t use her nose to assess situations; she tries to attack the trigger. Redirection and creating distance is somewhat effective, but not every time. It’s very slow going with Daisy in this area; she doesn’t trust any human to handle anything. Building trust with her is proving to be very challenging. However, on the infrequent occasions when she does respond to redirection, she is heavily rewarded with calm verbal praise. She will not take food.

Car anxiety: 5%. Daisy is very fearful about the car and puts up a very big fight to avoid it. However, if I pick her up and put her on the seat, she becomes calm almost right away, and even goes into her crate with no fussing. I suspect that picking her up is a reinforcement of the fight, so I’ll definitely be working on resolving that.

Violet: 5%: Daisy persists with her efforts to attack Violet. Violet is no longer hissing and growling at Daisy; now, she’s quiet but watchful when Daisy is in the same space. As long as Violet remains very still, Daisy will accept direction from me; however, if Violet moves even a little, Daisy immediately starts barking and trying to attack, and she has to be removed from the space. When I go to bed, if Violet joins me, Daisy starts screeching at the top of her lungs, growling, pawing at the crate door trying to get out to attack Violet. Her crate is now completely covered at night so she can’t see if Violet – or Glimmer – comes in. It doesn’t stop her barking, but it does reduce it, and it stops the screeching and pawing at the crate door.

Glimmer: 90%. For the most part, Daisy is very good with Glimmer and often seeks her out. However, a couple of days ago, Glimmer brought her toy to me for a game of tug, and Daisy immediately went off on her, barking and even trying to nip her. Despite being corrected with a firm “no”, Daisy’s behavior continued until Glimmer gave up and moved away from me. This has happened twice; once when Daisy was in her bed on top of the blanket pile on my rocker, and once when she was on the ground.

NOTE: When one dog is physically higher off the ground than another dog, that can create a state of mind in which the dog perceives themselves as being of a higher rank. This can cause all kinds of problems – Daisy is a very good example – and lead to fights. To change this perception, the dog’s physical position must be changed by not allowing the dog to position themselves above the other dog. In Daisy’s case, this means not allowing her up on the rocker anymore.

This first week with Daisy has been about us learning where and how she needs help, her learning about us, and finding ways to encourage everyone to get along with each other. As we move into Week Two, I’ll be focusing more on her reactivity, with secondary focus on her car anxiety. She will still be worked on her leash manners, of course, but the reactivity is a priority.

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