If only...

This past week as I've been doing "homework" with Sadie for her obedience class I have also decided to work Bella to refresh her training as well. I really haven't done much formal training with her for a while and I had forgotten how good she can do (at least she does at home when no one is around) She hasn't missed a beat!

I think the break may have been good for her because she seems even better now than she was before. Even things that seemed to give us trouble in the past, such as the "moving down" she did quite well the other night!

If I can only get her past the extreme fear/shyness that she has. Last week there was an episode of Dog Whisperer that confirmed my beliefs about why she is the way she is. It was a Mallinois who was a trained sniffer dog. He was awesome at what he did but he had a problem with being very shy and afraid of sudden noises and movements around anyone other than his primary trainer/owner. The poor guy acted just like Bella does! When DW and the owner/trainer sat down to discuss the dogs problems the owner told him that he had spoken to the breeder and asked why the dog behaved like that and was told that the dog had spent the first 8 months of his life confined to a crate. I truly believe that this has been Bella's problem, I have no idea what happened to her during the first 5 or 6 months of her life but based on her behavior I think that nothing happened! I really think that she spent her time either tied up left in someones yard/garage/crate without any interaction during the critical developmental stages that a puppy goes through.

The good news is that DW was able to bring the dog on his show back from what he called "total rock bottom", unfortunately I am not him and I don't have access to some of the things he did to bring about such a rapid and extreme change in the dog. He took the dog everywhere, even places like New York! He had someone with the dog 24/7 working on his confidence and socialization.

I do have hope for Bella though, I now know that have been doing the right things with her, it's just been a bit slower going. She has improved some but she does still have a long way to go. I think the weather is starting to get better so I really want to start getting her out and about again. I want to take her to places like, petsmart, the park, and even the outdoor areas at restaurants/coffee shops. Even if she never improves enough to compete at another trial, I want her to be able to have a happy panic-free life!

Merry Christmas!

From Bella!

Bella's New Bling

Bella got new bling for Christmas!

Guess there is always next year...

For months now my dog club has been discussing the idea of participating in the local Christmas Parade this year. The plan was to do drill team type demonstrations for the duration of the 5 mile parade route.

I really wanted to participate with Bella as this would provide a great socialization experience for her to be around so many people. But I felt that it would be pushing it to expect her to not only be around all of those people, but to also do drill team exercises.

I got my hopes up when, at our last meeting, they discussed the situation in more detail and offered that anyone who didn't feel that their dog was ready for the drills, could still participate in the parade by just walking along behind those doing the drill exercises.

At that point I started to get excited thinking that "we can actually do this!" Then they announced the date and time of the parade...

December 4th at 5pm.

Crap.

Where will I be on December 4th at 5pm?

In Long Beach at Eukanuba!

No parade for us this year, dang it.

A Walk in the Park

Yesterday afternoon Bella and I went for a walk at the park. We had just about finished our first lap when a lady with a White Shepherd pup approached us. She said asked how old Bella was, I told her about a year and a half. The lady said that her pup was the same age. She then said that her dog was very dog-shy and asked if we would mind if she would just follow us for a while to try to get her dog comfortable walking near Bella. Of course we were happy to help.

Bella set an awesome example and just kept on walkin' right along with me. She looked back once or twice but I think that was more because of the lady and not the dog. After another lap the lady was able to move up and walk her dog right next to us. She was surprised at how well her dog was behaving. Both dogs behaved beautifully!

It worked out quite well for both of us actually, because the other dog had a positive experience with another dog and Bella had a positive experience with a stranger.

During our walk, the Shepherd Lady kept commenting on how well behaved Bella was, and that she had always loved and admired the "Pitties" but that she didn't feel she could handle one. I commended her for being responsible enough to understand that. "Pitties" are great dogs if they are raised and socialized properly, but like any breed, they are NOT for everyone.

Anyway, Shepherd Lady and I had a good conversation about dogs, training and how they help us be more balanced people. Though the lady was on the right track, I was able to give her a few training tips that might help her and also referred her to Trainer Guy because I'm sure he could really help the few issues she was having with her pup. I hope she goes. LOL Maybe I could get a freebie or a discount for referring her.

After we had finished our laps I left the park with an awesome feeling.It was such a great experience for all of us! Bella behaved beautifully with both the other dog and the strange lady. And we were able to help socialize and educate another dog and owner!

Cuddle Bug

This past Sunday I decided to spend the day resting (recuperating from our birthday party the night before) and catching up on some of my DVR shows. I invited Bella to join me on my bed (since the only DVR in the house is in my bedroom) for some one on one cuddle time.

At first she wanted to play, but once I convinced her that my bed was not the place for that, she settled right down.

I wish I would have had batteries in my camera. She looked so content, with her head on my lap snoring away!

I would have liked to stay like that all day! And apparently so did she, when I tried to take her out for a potty break I had to pick her up to get her off of the bed! She did NOT want to move!

I love my Sadie too but she's just not the cuddling type, neither is Stimpy. But I love my very willing cuddle bug, Bella!

This might work...

When I was browsing on a Rally yahoo group that I belong to, someone linked to a really great dog training website. For fun I decided to take a peek and see what all it had on it. It's quickly turning into my new favorite site!Especially since Bella has been having so much trouble. Her recall is non-existent ever since the "incident" in agility class. I've been trying to figure out a way to start from scratch to re-teach her.

I think this might be the answer to my problems:

http://www.dragonflyllama.com/%20DOGS/Levels/ByLevel/1Level.html

Now if I can just find a volunteer to help me...