When the girls first arrived, I gave them time to explore and check out their new surroundings without any of the other dogs around. It can be very overwhelming for dogs to have too many new things introduced all at once. Both Jessie and Scout were a little wary at first but it didn't take long for them to start to look more relaxed. Once they were more comfortable in their new environment, it was time to start introducing them to the other dogs.
I only introduce one new dog at a time. It can be a bit much for a dog to suddenly have a pack of dogs running up to them to greet them even if that pack of dogs is the friendliest group in the world.
If possible, greetings should be done off leash in neutral territory. My dogs are relaxed about their resources so I know we won't have a problem doing the meet and greet at my house. Leashes tend to add tension to greetings and it's easy for owners to tighten up and get tense on the leash. Dogs pick up on that so easily and, if their person is anxious, that can add to the tension. Scout was a little uncomfortable meeting the dogs at first but pretty quickly did some nice, appropriate greeting and she seemed to relax a bit more.
It's important to select the right dogs for greetings with your dogs. This dog, even though she is quite a bit bigger than Scout, gets really small when she greets other dogs. Even so, Scout turns away and tries to avoid her. Letting her approach at her own speed will help the situation.
It didn't take long for Jessie and Scout to start to feel more comfortable and I could introduce more than one dog at a time. It's helpful too, that all my dogs have really good recalls so, if I see one of the girls looking uncomfortable, I can call my dog away.
So now that we are out and playing with the dogs, it's time to start building Scout's recall. I start out by rewarding random check ins. If there is a lot going on in the environment and your dog comes to you to "check in" with you, that should be rewarded. Scout worked pretty well for treats but sometimes would get a little over stimulated and she would stop taking the treats. This will probably get better as she gets more accustomed to her surroundings. Jessie is happy with attention and praise so I used those for her rewards when she checked in with me.
We started out easy at first and just did back away recalls. In a low distraction environment, I say "Scout, come" and wiggle a treat under her nose as I'm backing up. The entire way back I'm praising and encouraging her as she follows me. When I know I'm getting a really good response from her, I start to make it a little more challenging for her.
With Jessie, because she is not that interested in the treats, praising her and encouraging her while moving backwards is enough to entice her to follow.
It was a big day. We got a lot done. A well deserved snuggle on the couch was in order. Tomorrow should be even better!
No comments:
Post a Comment