20 April 2011

{19april2011: daycare update}

More updates on daycare!
Slowly but surely it seems like Darwin is settling into the daycare routine.
She is complacent walking in, but still a nut when it's time to leave.
A couple times Jason had noticed that when we picked her up she was panting a lot (probably some from nerves) and that her tongue seemed almost purple.
We were concerned that she wasn't potty-ing during the day (we don't think she'd go on the main play floor) and she wasn't drinking the water from the communal dish.
So we made arrangements for them to take her out for a potty break and give her a time out so she can drink water in a kennel.
It seems to have maybe helped a little as I caught her sniffing/almost playing with another dog and laying down on the floor again. Woo hoo!  Or maybe it's just that she's still tired from our 9 mile hike this weekend (post to come on that).




p.s. On another note, any advice on how to work with her reactivity to other dogs on leash? Sometimes she's fine, other times she barks/snarls at the other dog like she's out of control (Remi has been witness to it). We ran into a dog this weekend (a little Pomeranian) and she was fine greeting it (then it nipped at her and she was still fine). Then a few hours later we saw Friday and Friday's Aunty (Robin's mom's dog), Coco, and Darwin went crazy barking at Coco. So embarrassing.

11 comments:

  1. Ahimsa has a reactive dog class, we brought one of our dogs there and the information and practice was really helpful. Its called "growly dog" but isn't for aggression as much as it is for dogs that are reactive to other dogs.

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  2. What great khanine daykhare pikhs!

    As fur the leashie thing - I keep my mom guessing - will I be khrakhkah or khalm ;-)

    Hugz&Khysses,
    Khyra

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  3. I hope you're having a good time at the daycare, Darwin!

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  4. It took killian a while to adjust, probably two months to adjust to daycare. But he had two seasoned daycare Danes to show him the way. They also had to make him take "forced" naps during the day for the first month where they would put him in the boarding runs for an hour so he would sleep. Danes are sensitive, and it can take a while. When they get used to the new "routine" they will do fine.

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  5. We're sure Darwin will settle! Our human used to work in a doggie daycare and she says that some dogs dp take a while - the dogs that didn't settle there got taken out regularly to a quiet are to have some down time, where they weren't surrounded by so many dogs!

    With the shouting nasty thing at other dogs on lead - that's always a hard one and requires lots of effort and consitencey on the humans part to fix! Our human reckons that it is one of the most comman behavioural problems, but can be one of the hardest to fix! If your humans are really concerned about it, it might pay to go and see a proffessional trainer who they like and trust :)

    Licks and lots of slobber,
    Lexi and Jasper the Danes

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  6. About your daycare problem I can't help at all, my humans didn't ever know there was some place like that as it doesn't exist in France.

    But about passing nicely behing other doggies, I've made some improvement even if like you I'm a little inconstant. I don't bark though but sometimes I try to go to say hello even if my humans say me not to do it... They found a way that seems to be working, when they see a dog, they take a treat (something really good I really like, like chease!!! They say it doesn't smell good but it works so...) and tell me to walk nicely, it keeps me focused on the chease so even if I see the dog I'm much concentrated on the chease and when I walk nicely, they give me the treat and make a very big fuss about it, saying it's very VERY good, petting me a LOT so I know I'm a good boy and it is really worth acting this way :) Hope it will help you :)

    xoxo Lincoln

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  7. Oh man, yup, I feel your pain. I don't let Mango greet dogs when we are out on leash, but sometimes idiot people have off leash dogs that run right up to us. Grr, grr, grr. Being on leash is just different. Mango loves our next door neighbor dog when she is on the other side of the fence and they kiss through the fence and he sings his love song, but meet her on a leash and he is all growly.

    I know how awful that can be with a big dog. If Dexter decides to bark and lunge I can just shrug it off, but Mango looks scary even when he is being a good dog. Sob.

    About daycare, good that they are taking her out. Maybe she could use a nap as well if there is a quiet room for her. Do they ever have daycare outside? Dexter is much more relaxed when daycare is out than when it is in.

    Mango Momma

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  8. I think it would be fun to go to daycare!

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  9. Looks to me like someone is having fun!

    Kari
    http://dogisgodinreverse.com/

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  10. Looks like daycare is fun! Hazel and Grady used to go to one here and they played all day outside. Glad she's getting used to it, I bet it's a bit overwhelming at first. Too much fun to think about drinking and peeing!

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  11. Great to hear that Darwin seems to be continuing to make progress in daycare! Honey also seems to have problems drinking enough whenever she is staying in kennels or daycare - she always comes home and drinks gallons!

    I agree with Lexi & Jasper's humans - reactivity to other dogs is a very complex problem that can't be easily fixed just with a few tips over the internet. It;s also not something that's easily fixed overnight - you'll have to be willing to put in a lot of work & time. But most of all, you really need an experienced, professional trainer who can walk with you and assess Darwin's behaviour in 'real life' and then guide you in how to control her. Without watching her, it's impossible for us to advise because we don't know whether she is reacting out of excitement, frustration, nervouseness, fear, play, etc...there are many possible causes and to an inexperienced eye, they all look the same but there are subtle cues that tell you what the dog is really feeling. Also, you have to take the context into account (the environment, etc) plus the reaction of the other dogs. Also, YOUR reaction is very important (tension on the leash is often a trigger for reactivity) - so all of this makes it a complex, multi-faceted problem and as Lexi & Jasper say, if you're serious about "fixing it", then you need to consult a professional who will spend time working with you & Darwin in real-life situations.

    Hsin-Yi

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