Mocha and I "grow" along our loose lead way.

I've been working consistently very hard with Mocha. Our daily training is short and she seems to enjoy. She seems so happy and we are definitely growing close. She looks at me in my eyes like she never did before and she cuddles with me whenever I sit or have a lay down. She used to leave the room. She is very happy to romp around and she is getting enough exercise and mental stimulation. I play and talk to her and I express my affection. I switched groups at the dog school and I have a more relaxed group with younger dogs so all is well, except for the incident with the blind lady she lunged at; or should I say her cane with a ball on the end of it. I am just concerned because she has recently dug a hole in my sofa cushion. She hasn't destroyed anything like this since she was a very young pup. I am concerned and down one sofa. Is she frustrated, rebelling or being passive aggressive, or just living out her feisty nature when I'm not looking or what? She honestly seems so much happier than ever before. I feel baffled.

 

Probably this? or is she coming in season?
I guess nothing goes in a straight line -- two steps forward and one back, that sort of thing.

 

She is 2.5 months over her heat and is in a state of pseudocyesis (False pregnancy) now that you mention it. Maybe she's digging a nest for her babies/toys. I didn't consider this.

 

Well the lady had a ball on the end of a stick! I'd say she was well within her rights to lunge

 

All things came to a halt last week when Mocha swallowed a stuffed animal. She vomited the head. How can she ingest a stuffed animal's head. Is this a dog or a cow? Certainly a cow as more wits than Mocha, that is at least when she's excited. She lost a lot of fluids and weight. We have a few excellent clinics here where she stayed for 2 days until everything was back to normal. I was sick with worry and so sad, but she is back to her bouncy self and we can begin training again. I hit a brick wall with clicker retrieval and I need to pick it back up starting from the beginning. I am glad that she is healthy and it helped me prioritize what is important. I do want her to be an obedient girl and we will continue to strive for this, but I have a fresh new insight about just how much she means to me. Having a healthy and happy dog is my first priority. Training will have to be fun and rewarding.

 

Oh Mocha! What a worrying time she gave you. Glad the vets gave her such good care and she is back to herself, and back with you. Having fun is the key to training, that way neither of you will get bored.

 

What a fright for you. Glad she's ok now.

 

What happened? I am interested because I'm doing this with Cassie, we are up to 3 second hold today

 

Yes, isn't it just. Really, when I think about it Cassie is good enough now, apart from jumping up. But the training adds a certain something I believe.

 

Poor Mocha and you, what a worry. I am so sorry she has been poorly. I hope she makes a very speedy recovery xx

 

Hi Selina, We hit the wall when I tried to get her to release in my hand. She was never really interested in her dummy to begin with. She just is not excited about this training. Yesterday I bought 2 funny squeaky toys. Ones a duck that loudly sounds like one, and the other is a bright pink one. If I give her a rubber squeaky toy, it's destroyed within minutes unless it is padded in some kind of secure casing. I played with them in front of her and nearly drove her wild. This morning I tried the game of throwing one, she retrieved and then when she got close to me, I threw the second one, and so she dropped it and each and every time "fell" for my little trick. I also bought a new soft dummy and I will go back to step 1 clicker retrieval and see if we can make progress. Not giving up. Let me know how your progress goes with Cassie.

 

Thank you @Dawn_Treader , I'm doing clicker retrieve as Cassie loves to run and pick up the dummy but likes to play with it. we weren't making any progress so posted in the gundog section on here and @snowbunny put up the link for clicker retrieve from Pippa. Today I got the feeling she is enjoying it as she was wagging her tail ! I think we will progress to 4 seconds tomorrow. And I'm feeling encouraged as she's never shown any interest in "fetch" when we are out but this evening I threw a stick into the water and she went to get it and for the first time headed back towards me with it, and I was able to reward her and throw it again. Perhaps the penny is dropping!

 

Mocha is a great name by the way!

 

I've put dummy training on the back burner. I've been following clicker training, and Mocha just doesn't want to bring it back. Feel discouraged because I just want to play fetch with my dog. I love to play this. Started a book called the Culture Clash and she says a dog that refuses to bring back the dummy could also want to play "I'm gonna get ya." So I play this with her with a chew toy. I moved on to some other things like Middle and putting lots of work into strengthening sit, stay and down. I will go back to dummy training when I am over my discouragement.

 

I can well understand how you feel about this. I really wanted Cassie to have the enjoyment of retrieving and she didn't seem interested, but clicker training does seem to have helped, how far did you get with it?. I enjoyed the early stages as I liked watching her fathom it out.
Given that we have to work with the dog we've got you're probably right to ease up, you might find she's keener after a break.
What is the Culture Clash? Is it a training book?

 

Hi Selina,
I know you've been busy too, doing the same kind of clicker dummy training. I always had to throw it, instead of placing it on the floor, then she nudged it around, and even started taking it in her mouth, but she just hated it. I switched up dummies, and even just used a ball, anything to get her interested. She just doesn't like it. I will try again outside and maybe that will help.
The culture clash is a great book which I read about in here in the book reviews. Pippa recommended it.
Congrats on your progress. You must be so proud.

 

Link to review: https://thelabradorforum.com/threads/the-culture-clash.434/

 

Thank you for the link.

Well I don't know about proud -- but I'm hopeful we can build on what we've done so far. I just like seeing that look of enjoyment on her face.