It’s official. Annie is ready to begin looking for her forever home! This girl has come such a long way, and I am super proud of her.
When she came to me almost a year ago, Annie had a potential for aggressiveness along with severe separation anxiety. In situations that caused anxiety, she would show her teeth and growl, but there are zero bites on her record. During this time, I have worked with Annie and to help her get past these issues and gain confidence. For this reason, Annie is looking for a home where there are no children. Additionally, her new owner MUST agree to an owner training session before taking her home that will be 1 1/2 – 2 hours long. During this session, the new owner will learn the structure that Annie needs to maintain a balanced emotional and psychological state and how to use both the prong collar and e-collar that she has been trained on. We will also take a walk at the park and transfer leadership to the new owner which will make transitioning into her new home easier on both Annie and her new owner. Annie does exceptionally well with other dogs and cats, so a multi-animal home would be fine. There will be a “rehoming fee” that actually covers the cost of her e-collar. This is non-negotiable as it has been part of the solution that has brought balance. I will happily agree to a one month trail period.
Quite a while ago, I made an update on my Facebook page, but failed to post it here on the blog. I will include it below. To see more videos of Annie’s progress, please go to my YouTube channel ( https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMwZQ9Caz-jo9GyIkojEuug ) and type “Annie” into the search bar. You can also find videos of Annie dispersed throughout my Facebook page.
October 8:
Miss Annie has been a very challenging dog to work with. She has been with us for about 8 months now, and if I have learned anything, I have learned just how stubborn she is. As long is everything is going the way she thinks it should be, Annie is a perfect sweetheart. But if you try telling her to do something she doesn’t want to do, she lets you know her disapproval by showing teeth and growling.
The truly most difficult task she has had to work past is settling in the crate. For the first two weeks, she would literally hurt herself trying to escape. At night, I had to have a baby monitor on Annie that would alert me to when she was trying to escape. From there, it took another several months to get her past barking and whining in the crate after she knew I had left the house. Now the ONLY crate issue we are having (and it really isn’t even the crate) is the noise making when we get off of what she believes is her schedule (a late feeding, not going outside at the exact time every day, etc). This stuff has less to do with crate and more to do with being bossy and pushy.
I took a time out from Annie’s obedience training to really work on the crate since it was so vital to her mental and emotional health (getting her past the separation anxiety). Now we are picking it all back up. I am almost beginning as if she hasn’t had any training at all – almost. No e-collar yet, just the prong collar.
Today she reviewed sit and I immediately put some distance, duration, and distraction into it. Since sit is something we have had her do before going through any threshold on a multiple times a day basis, she also received correction if she didn’t feel like complying. She still showed me her disapproval by redirecting on (biting) the leash. Through the obedience work, there this final piece of the puzzle will finally be addressed. I am hoping she will he ready for a new home in 3-5 weeks.
October 20:
Annie is working much more willingly. There is a bit more pep in her step and her overall attitude is more perky. I have put more distance between us as we work on the beginning phase of recall.
In the very recent past, after having extended time out of her crate, Annie would throw a vocal fit when it was time to return. That too seems to have disappeared. I hope this is a trend that continues.