Don't give up on "unresolveable" issues

[Sarah83]

Rupert had a bone last night. I'm sitting here cross stitching, hubby's on his computer, all's well. Then Rupert suddenly acts all distressed. He's somehow got the bone wedged in his mouth and can't get it out! God knows how he'd done it, the bone should have been too big for his mouth. Hubby gets down next to him, tells him "it's alright" which is basically a cue for him to relax, hold still and let us deal with whatever the problem is (usually a thorn in his paw lately). Well he wagged his tail slightly, stopped struggling and allowed Calvin to manipulate the bone out of his mouth. Took him a couple of minutes to do so but Rupert never attempted to pull away or bite, he never even seemed overly distressed once he knew we were dealing with the problem.

This is a dog highly prone to panicking and flinging himself around when anything distressing happens. I've worked hard on getting him to relax and let me deal with something that's upsetting him and it's paid off. The fact that he just lay there and allowed my husband to free him rather than screaming and rearing and bucking shows how far he's come. To anyone having issues with their dog that they feel they're never going to get anywhere with I would say carry on trying, it can pay off when you least expect it to!

[ladybug1802]

Brilliant Sarah!! Well done to you for the work you have done! i totalluy agree with you as well...and its only when these things happen that you realise how far you have come! I know with Dylan that its not a noticeable progress you notice on a daily basis, but I notice quite prominent changes on a regular basis now and it really spurs you on!

[runlikethewind]

Well done Sarah and to your hubby too!

[Nettle]

Well done all three of you - be proud of how well you are doing.

[Sarah83]

Thanks guys He's been a lot of hard work at times but he's worth it.

[jacksdad]

yes good work. Great story for all those that need a good illustration that moving at the dog's pace isn't just something said in absences of "real training advice".

[chay]

absolutely agree - fantastic, fantastic, fantastic! well done to all of you!!

[Sarah83]

Exactly why I thought I'd post about it Jacksdad And my methods probably sound ridiculous because they don't involve training as most people think of it. I basically spent a lot of time sitting with Rupert, massaging him and rewarding for relaxed behaviour. I've recently started work on it outside of the house and in the last few days have noticed a HUGE difference out there. He's responding to me, is extremely playful and isn't constantly scanning the environment. He does still do it but is relaxed enough to do other things too. We've actually managed to do some real clicker training outside for the first time ever! 7 long, frustrating years and more tears than I care to remember but I feel like I'm finally getting somewhere with this problem.

I suppose really this should be in the Success Stories section but I highly doubt that's where people will look when they're struggling with what seems like an unresolveable issue.

[PinkDice]

Very inspirational, thank you for sharing. Well deserved kudos to you, the hubby, and Rupert for such amazing progress!