Coco: Day 3: breakthroughs!

Coco, relaxing on the studio floor

Such a pretty face!!

We had some real breakthroughs, starting yesterday afternoon!  I've been working on treat-training, at first just helping her to learn that there is a connection between an action and a treat, even if it's just to take the treat, and loading the word "good!" with the treat-association.  Her timidity scatters her ability to learn somewhat, though you can see her working hard to process everything all the time.  But, yesterday, you could see a little light go off in her head!  Suddenly, things started to fall into a pattern for her, and she was off like gang-busters.  Now, we're not ready for Rally Obedience or anything, but she's got her thinking cap on, now!  

She doesn't like to be reached for, so that's been a starting place.  Now, an outstretched hand needs to be touched with her nose, which might result in a treat, but at least a "GOOD!" and some petting.  And she gets it!  I've started to add other hand-signal+word cues, luring with a treat, keeping it simple, and she's gaining the confidence to try to figure out what I want.  We're getting really good at "look up", "look down", "track" (meaning follow the treat with your nose), and beginning to get "back".  "Wait" at door and gate are getting more and more routine for her.  

After our afternoon yard time (lure pole for Pogo, while Brilly and Coco rattled around trying to figure out how to either get out of the way or get into it!) and walk, we went back in the house, but Coco hasn't learned any of the usual routines, really.  Me moving around doing odd house-jobs was me doing  obscure but possibly meaningful stuff that should be watched in case it turns into food or other interesting activity.  We see this with each of our new adoptees.  H and I call it "moving target syndrome", where the new dog doesn't take its eyes off you until you become boring, which can take a week or more.  You always have company, and have to take care not to change directions too fast, or you might trip on your shadow.  

I had to run out to the store, so I put Coco in her crate, muzzled the boys, and left, just a little anxious, as that would be the first time she'd be human-less in our house.  Annie had said not to leave her out of her crate, even for a minute, if she can't see us, as she would defecate ... and eat it.  But that she was happy as a clam in her crate.  Another issue to train: alone tolerance.  Back to the house about 20 minutes later, and she bounced out of her crate, pleased as punch.

A bit later, I was in the kitchen, distracted, but I heard her pacing rather quickly.  My instincts said, "Get her outside, or you'll have a clean-up job!", but I didn't act fast enough.  I caught her just as she gave up and squatted over the area rug.  *sigh*  All new pets should come with a steam cleaner, don't you think?  I got hold of her harness, and pretty much dragged her off, talking encouragingly about proper potty habits, got her out to the yard, where she enthusiastically trotted off to finish what she'd started.  We messed around a bit in the yard, and came back inside.  Clean up was watched with great interest.  

Dinner was still a bit of a dance, but she's starting to get that Brilly's food is not her food, and that her food will go in the same place every time.  This morning was MUCH easier.

Pogo demonstrating how two beds are better than one, and Coco
settling for just the one.

After dinner, she again didn't want to go hide in her crate all by herself down the hall, so she wandered and paced, approached the waiting dog beds in the living room, and retreated, finally lying down on one!  With a few more orbits, she pretty much stayed there 'til bedtime.  That may sound small, but not for her!  She got lots of praise and petting there, you can be sure.

Rowdy giving Coco the Cat Test, Stage 1: from a distance

She also began to take an interest in the cats.  We've been watching for this.  We have one that I've warned her about as The Evil One, who will not take any guff from any dog, but the other two are less likely to fight back.  One will skitter and run - very prey-like - and the other is likely to walk through the dogs' legs and sniff noses with them.  The latter cat got some real interest from Coco, so we began "Ah-ah!  No kitty!"  She listened, got the general idea, but had to try it out a couple more times just to see if that's really what I meant.  Once, when she was beyond my reach, she made a little dash at one of the cats, and I barked out my "Ah ah!" with a more raised voice.  She stopped dead and looked at me.  Not cowed, thank goodness, but excited, and yet willing to listen.  So far, so good!

We had a bit of a bump, too.  We were coming back inside, all three muzzled from being in the yard (we always muzzle our greys in the yard because of their tendency to play rough, and their thin skin: cheap insurance!)  Pogo, the white and red guy with the funny face, snarked at Coco.  She offered no return, but backed away in the enclosed space of the laundry room.  I put myself between them, corrected Pogo, took the muzzles off the other two and let them out before having Pogo "say please" to get his muzzle off (that's routine for us, as Pogo is in constant maintenance mode for his own behavior issues). I told him (yes, he gets it!) that I was keeping his muzzle handy, and he'd better be nice or he'd be in face-lock-down.  He was fine after that, but his demeanor is shifted a bit.  

Pogo has had fear aggression, which he's acted out on with Brilly and towards other male dogs.  Only a couple times has he ever shown any aggressive behavior with females, and never with people.  We've worked hard with him, fearing we might have to re-home him for awhile, but have made such wonderful progress, he's really become a love.  But, we watch, and we manage.  He snarked at her again this morning, a short lunge, while muzzled, while all three were on lead in the driveway.  I corrected, separated, and kept walking.  It's often close quarters (like the laundry room, or going through a gate or door, or being in the car) plus some extra excitement or un-spent energy that sets off Pogo's behavior.  I'm thinking now that the un-spent energy is part of it, and maybe that Coco's fear is making him nervous.  I've put a DAP collar on him (we had very good luck with this for him in the past), and will give him more exercise than he's been getting as well.  

All that aside, she's been so much happier!  She came into the studio this morning prancing with joy, tossing her head around, even hopping a little, stamping her front feet, and she even kicked at me!  We tussled around for about a minute, ending with a nice rub, during which she did gaze into my face 'til here eyes started to close!  What a sweetie.  We have got to get a little video of her prancing!  Is this a borzoi thing?  She kicks her front feet straight out like a Tennessee Walker!  It's so cute!

I broke out my ZoomGroom, since it's all the pet brush I have, and gave her coat a go-over.  It seemed to work well, without catching, but going through the fur to the skin well.  She doesn't really need much, yet, but she will as her coat grows out more, so it's good to keep her used to such handling.  She seemed to enjoy it once she got over the confusion of being rubbed by a foreign object.

So, that's today's update.  Great progress, and a couple bumps in the road.  Well, it's a chaotic system, multiple pets!  A work in progress, as are we all.  Time to walk these hounds!