Another update.....
The last 2 weekends, I've been taking Betty to the park during the day and playing the Look At That game, where we would sit a distance off the trail, and whenever a dog passed by us and Betty looked at it, then back at me, she would get praises and treats (Hot Dogs). It's been a really fun game, and she's beginning to be a little more calm. But when it comes to small dogs, even at a great distance, she still wants at them, no matter what. I've been keeping her leash short, and would praise her for sitting next to me, and if she looks at a dog and then looks at me like she's saying, Did you see me look at that dog?, she would get praised and treats. This is going to become a daily routine, now that the time has changed, and it is now still going to be daylight after I get off work. We'll be doing this for the whole summer, as well as our walks and playing ball in the park when they aren't playing soccer or softball.
Well, the friend that has the chiwawa we used to work with until they moved to Seattle, well, he came over today for a visit. We took the dogs to the park for a walk. Betty was lunging for about 5-10 minutes, then started calming down a bit. Within 20 minutes, they were walking within 3 feet of each other with minimal problems. Occasionally I would see Betty freeze, which is my trigger to increase the distance, as the freeze usually means lunging is next, lol. But overall, we had a really good day. Then after they left, we went back to the other part of the park again and played some more Look At That. Had a good day...
Well, Betty will be going for some new training on the 17th with people that deal with dogs that have issues. I've kept them updated on Betty's progress here, and it sounds like it will only be a 1 day session. I think what they are planning is to let Betty go in with their other dogs that they use for training, and when she becomes comfortable with them, we will be working on leash work with her around other dogs and with other dogs. We will also be doing some long-line work as well. And from what I gather, it could take an hour, or up to 6-7 hours. But in the end, they said I'll be walking with Betty and 4-5 other dogs leashes in my hands. So, hopefully it turns out to benefit Betty and me, mainly me. She told me that I'll leave with all the tools I need to be successful. And as for adding another dog, they told me that it not only would benefit Betty, but if I needed them to help in the introduction process, if the other people do decide to rehome the BC that I'm interested in, that they could come and help me. But they said I would have all the tools to do it on my own, but their doors are wide open if I needed the help. So, these are just things I'm looking forward to down the road.
Well, here's a pic of Betty after today, lol. Now this is a pooped out dog, lol...
