The One With the Mini-Celebration in Honor of Muggsy
Muggsy's Training Diary, Day 10
May 24, 2005
My renewed dedication to Muggsy's training program has paid off. I have been so depressed lately I can barely stand it, but I'm not the kind of person that can shut down and wallow for very long. I spent the whole weekend undevoted to dog training, and that's all the time I can allow.
Last night, Muggsy was very anxious and hard to work with, but tonight, he was a totally different dog. I think he has some bruises because he was uncomfortable with T-Touch in a couple of spots, but he was receptive to training. He kept the muzzle on for two minutes with no panic. Then, he went behind the door very well. I added a command, "Door!" which seemed to make it a little more clear to him. He went there and gobbled my treats. I was able to open the door all the way with him flush against the door. I couldn't get it to point where the door could touch him, but it went very well. When I finished, he kept standing by the crack in the door, hoping I would dispense more treats.
You aren't supposed to introduce a command to dog training until the dog understands what you are supposed to do, but Muggsy just doesn't work like normal dogs. He likes having the command. It makes him try harder to figure out what you want him to do. Commands help everything. On my reactive dog message board, several people have been posting that their reactive dogs are very smart ("My dog can learn a trick in five minutes," one owner wrote) and eager to please, just reactive when frightened. That's Muggsy to the T. I taught him sit, down and shake all in less than five minutes. I taught him potty-training in less than a day. He wants to do what I tell him. He just gets freaked out and falls back on aggression, which isn't a desireable trait. Is he frustrating? Extremely. But what in your life is worth having that you don't have to work for?
When Muggsy had such a good night, it was a mini-celebration in honor of me. He got ham. He got lovings. Thank you, Amsterdam. Holland loves Muggsy. Good-night!
May 24, 2005
My renewed dedication to Muggsy's training program has paid off. I have been so depressed lately I can barely stand it, but I'm not the kind of person that can shut down and wallow for very long. I spent the whole weekend undevoted to dog training, and that's all the time I can allow.
Last night, Muggsy was very anxious and hard to work with, but tonight, he was a totally different dog. I think he has some bruises because he was uncomfortable with T-Touch in a couple of spots, but he was receptive to training. He kept the muzzle on for two minutes with no panic. Then, he went behind the door very well. I added a command, "Door!" which seemed to make it a little more clear to him. He went there and gobbled my treats. I was able to open the door all the way with him flush against the door. I couldn't get it to point where the door could touch him, but it went very well. When I finished, he kept standing by the crack in the door, hoping I would dispense more treats.
You aren't supposed to introduce a command to dog training until the dog understands what you are supposed to do, but Muggsy just doesn't work like normal dogs. He likes having the command. It makes him try harder to figure out what you want him to do. Commands help everything. On my reactive dog message board, several people have been posting that their reactive dogs are very smart ("My dog can learn a trick in five minutes," one owner wrote) and eager to please, just reactive when frightened. That's Muggsy to the T. I taught him sit, down and shake all in less than five minutes. I taught him potty-training in less than a day. He wants to do what I tell him. He just gets freaked out and falls back on aggression, which isn't a desireable trait. Is he frustrating? Extremely. But what in your life is worth having that you don't have to work for?
When Muggsy had such a good night, it was a mini-celebration in honor of me. He got ham. He got lovings. Thank you, Amsterdam. Holland loves Muggsy. Good-night!
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9:24 PM
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