Good morning, Rye!

  The other day it rained and temperatures dropped. Texans know this is actually "Fake Fall" where we can't get our hopes up but will still enjoy the brief respite from the summer heat. It absolutely was fake, because today in our long line work excursion I got tanned. I found another park / retention pond on google maps, not far from my kids' elementary school. We were able to practice some short leash work as well as full leash exercises we learned yesterday in our private lesson. In an effort to not keep a predictable schedule, we left the house at 11AM. Even though it was mid-80s, it was sunny and humid (should rain later today). We tried to stick to the shade, but they were far between spots and I had us leave sooner than I would have liked. We got even more hot as another person walking their dog was in between us and where we parked, so we had to stall and walk around farther away. Rye did react a bit to the other dog even at a distance, but really was too hot ...

To practice our long line work, Rye and I first went to a retention pond on Saturday evening. Retention ponds are nice because they're big empty fields that no one goes to because they're boring. This one in particular I targeted because it was next to her vet's office, and I want her to get accustomed to going there. Unfortunately I didn't get my GoPro set up right and all the video was upside down and way too dark. This morning Rye and I went to another retention pond off of Lakeline and Treeline. This one was labeled as an actual park and there were a few batting cage fence things in the middle of the field.  We had a good time. We only saw one jogger and another lady walking her dog from far away. We even found a tennis ball. Since completing the 24 hour fast, Rye no longer seems to have diarrhea. She stayed in her kennel the last couple nights without incident. Her nose is healing. We are still working on a lot of things: Getting out of the car from the crate witho...

 Blech. That's pretty much the sound she made this morning around 4am while I was cleaning up her first vomit . My poor girl, she threw up in her kennel and had to whine until I woke up. I got her out and bathed and dried her outside. She was in "place" inside while I was mopping the floor, then there was a BLECH and splash. Luckily being up on the cot meant nothing got on her, just the tile floor. It was dark and really smelly vomit. I'm wondering if that first night if it was actually diarrheas or just vomit as well. Got her to another place mat and cleaned that up. She drank some water too. This morning Rye seemed ok. We were able to train for her breakfast and she was attentive. I had to work thresholds more, she had been darting out in front of me. I'm practicing being a lot more clear about my expectations and when she doesn't meet them. I also think that first cut on her nose was not from rolling around. In the sunlight, I can now see her nose and mouth...

 I'm continuing to subvert Rye's expectations when she sees or does something that normally indicates she is about to do something exciting. If she sees me put on shoes, she remembers that means we're going out! I made sure to take my time getting ready this morning instead of feeding that adrenaline. Putting on her muzzle means she's about to do something potentially really exciting. I had her stay in "place" for a good while instead. I took my time loading up the car with her crate and our tools. The GoPro was strapped to my shirt and recorded us walking out the door, cycling in the front yard, and getting into the car. Next time I need to angle it more downward. I can recognize things I'm doing wrong and not catching things in time, but we're both trying! I'm still getting used to manipulating the leash and stims as well as using the commands and positioning Rye. It's still difficult to collar check when Rye is ahead and I've been swingi...

 After dealing with Rye in the middle of the night, I managed to sleep a couple more hours. Rye let me give her another bath as soon as we got up again, though she did grumble/growl a bit when I rubbed her back end. Again, I was very gentle and that helped her temperament. She was very dirty and stinky from her crate accident, so we had to take our time getting extra clean. Her kennel got cleaned out again as well. We had an easy day. Mostly training inside the house or in the front and back yard. In the morning, I cycled her in the front yard. We worked on waiting at the threshold and after exiting. Soon after we left the door, a neighbor walked by (he walks every morning). Rye was excited but we were able to work through it. Then some neighbors across the street left their house and Rye was excited again. I moved her back inside in case they were bringing out their dog, but they were just getting into their car. Rye was able to move back to the porch with me and return focus afte...

 Our girl is finally home! On June 28, 2024 I dropped Rye off with Cynthia at https://www.abetterbonddogtraining.com/ for an extended stay with behavioral modification. On August 20th, I got her back. Between those events I had 4 private lessons with Cynthia and received training for how Rye can be safe for herself and the beings around her. This blog will help me document our new life together and hold myself accountable for being a responsible pet owner, a fair leader for Rye, and maintain an environment where the whole family can not only sustain acceptable balance but also thrive in. One step at a time. The drive home went ok. I purchased a medium Ruff Land dog kennel and am appreciating how light yet durable it is. Rye only started whining about when we were almost home, so I stimmed briefly while I told her "no". We practiced exiting the crate and car with calmness. I cycled her in the front yard for a bit before we came inside. I let Rye settle and decompress in her ke...