SO PROUD, Serenity's new HUMAN friend

TahlzK

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#1
ok, Serenity has issues. She is a tad fearful at times, has major prey drive towards people and her herding instinct does not help. I never thought I'd ever be able to have her off leash, unmuzzled around a kid. Well.. Serenity has a new best friend, a 13yo! I am beyond proud, amazed and so glad to see that it is possible for Serenity to learn to love people. I worked at a school more then two years ago and in the past few months, I kept running in to two kids I knew from the school. They kept asking to come play/hang with me and the dogs when I take them out. I warned them about Serenity, they understood her issues and these past few weeks, the kids have been going for walks/to the school with me and the dogs. Serenity was muzzled/leashed at first, she did try to nip at their feet a few times which I corrected her for. She only recently was allowed to have the muzzle off, as long as i watched her carefully and the kids behaved.

SO... Serenity is still a bit iffy with the boy and I can't blame her, she still wants to nip at his feet at times but Serenity really hit it off with Zoe. I was going for a small hike and I ran in to Zoe. She asked if she could come, her parents were cool with it so she came along. Serenity did AMAZING! Serenity was unmuzzled, off leash and behaved perfectly, she was a absolute saint. Now, I was still watching her because I thought she still may try and nip but nothing. Zoe did several things that would have gotten anyone else a nip but nope, nothing. Serenity didn't stare, didn't stalk, didn't cower away. Serenity ran with her, played with her, ran up to her for CUDDLES, CUDDLES! She does NOT do that to strangers. This is Serenity shoving her face in to some ones arms/face/leaning against them, she has only ever done this to me.

I am blown away. I truly am. We are going for another hike tomorrow with Zoe so that'll be nice. I like Zoe as she really respects what I say in regards to Serenity and she has no fear when it comes to Serenity. I don't like the boy as much, he does fear Serenity a bit and doesn't like her as much so I try not to let him come around. I am hoping he can learn to trust her because thats the only way Serenity will trust him.



















 

Barb04

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#3
Serenity is so pretty. I'm glad to hear she has a friend; looks like they had lots of fun together.
 

TahlzK

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Danefeild; The e-collar is hardly used. She has a great re-call. I like letting her off leash while hiking but I worry what if she decides to ignore me if we happen to pass/see a person/dog? She listens quite well but I feel safer if she has that on, just in case. It's only been used if she's gone to run off (after wild life) she did go to run after a person with their dog when we ended our hike and the e-collar stopped her in her tracks. Others may not agree but a vibrate/shock is better then her making contact with a person or dog (as she doesn't exactly like dogs to much, due to fear) I am working constantly with using my voice and that is always my first reaction but the collar comes next if she ignores me. She can enjoy her freedom and I know she won't touch anyone/any dog. I've only had to use it twice.
 

TahlzK

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She has done great without the collar. Before I was using the e-collar, we went for a hike. I had her off leash and 4 guys with objects came our way. She saw them first, I saw her running full pelt in her direction. I am so lucky she listened to my voice that day or I would have had a problem.. So, I decided after that I wanted something extra just in case I come across a situation like this and she decided to blow me off. She has been fine with it on, she isn't afraid of it, she acts exactly like herself with it on.. It will never be use unless she goes to run and won't listen to my voice. I normally am careful with where I take her. The place we hike is generally empty.
 

Danefied

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she did go to run after a person with their dog when we ended our hike and the e-collar stopped her in her tracks. Others may not agree but a vibrate/shock is better then her making contact with a person or dog (as she doesn't exactly like dogs to much, due to fear)
So she is afraid of people/dogs, she runs after a person with their dog and got shocked for doing so?
You don’t think there is a possibility she could associate getting shocked with the people/dogs she is afraid of?
 

TahlzK

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#9
So she is afraid of people/dogs, she runs after a person with their dog and got shocked for doing so?
You don’t think there is a possibility she could associate getting shocked with the people/dogs she is afraid of?
Possibly, she could have. I'm not %100 if she was directly going for them though in the first place because I didn't see them (and it was easy to see through the bush) I only saw them when we got right out of the hiking area. I can only guess thats what she went for. My hope is that I can work hard enough on her re-call she won't run and she comes back when it's just people, it's dogs she needs to really learn to be called off from. I'm not to worried because we work on her recall everyday, I don't take her hiking all the time. We don't cross many other people while hiking so it'll be a rare thing and with all the training we do, hopefully she'll listen just fine within the next few weeks.
 

TahlzK

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#10
Though, I've been using the vibration as a reward type tool. So, the vibration basically means 'Come', the sensation probably isn't lovely but I've put a lovely reward with it, I charged it like you'd charge the clicker. So, hopefully that vibration in her mind, won't connect to when I press it if she is running. The shock might if she ignores the vibrate but I have only had to use the vibration.
 

Danefied

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#11
JMO, but I think you are putting too much faith in that e-collar. If you have a fearful dog who has shown willingness to bite, who will ignore a recall to run after dogs and people, I would not ever have that dog off leash. But that’s just me.

I can tell you that around here, there are plenty of people who wouldn’t think twice about shooting a dog running at them in a public place, ignoring a recall from the owner.
 

TahlzK

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JMO, but I think you are putting too much faith in that e-collar. If you have a fearful dog who has shown willingness to bite, who will ignore a recall to run after dogs and people, I would not ever have that dog off leash. But that’s just me.

I can tell you that around here, there are plenty of people who wouldn’t think twice about shooting a dog running at them in a public place, ignoring a recall from the owner.
Its not all the e-collar, its her training i believe in as well. We work on it every day now. Its illegal here to carry guns so that isn't a huge fear. It isn't just the e-collar. I trust her off around people pretty much, if they are at a distance, she's proven herself already in regards to that. Dogs, we are still heavily working on but she has proved she will come when called around dogs some times. She doesn't run after people who are by themselves now, we've worked hard on this. So, that's not what I'm worried about in the big scheme of things. I mean, we work on it so she remembers not to misbehave. Honestly, I see what you're saying and what I'm doing may be wrong, I know she maybe should be on but I believe we'll be fine if I keep following the rules I've been following with her. A lot of people don't agree with what I do and I can't blame them, I still think I'm an idiot at times for letting her off but I still will, in certain situations. Plus, where we hike it's rare to come across another dog. When we go to the school and if some one walks by with their dog, she has behaved and stayed, though I do leash her and leave (this is after school or on the weekend for anyone wondering).
 

yoko

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#13
Possibly, she could have. I'm not %100 if she was directly going for them though in the first place because I didn't see them (and it was easy to see through the bush) I only saw them when we got right out of the hiking area. I can only guess thats what she went for. My hope is that I can work hard enough on her re-call she won't run and she comes back when it's just people, it's dogs she needs to really learn to be called off from. I'm not to worried because we work on her recall everyday, I don't take her hiking all the time. We don't cross many other people while hiking so it'll be a rare thing and with all the training we do, hopefully she'll listen just fine within the next few weeks.
My only thing is if you don't know and she wasn't going for them it's not really sending a clear signal to the dog.
 

TahlzK

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My concern was that she was ignoring my voice and we were leaving the hiking area, so I was worried there was some one down there and she got to them. If she had done that while still hiking, I wouldn't have worried as much (depending). So, it probably wasn't a clear signal but when she starts running full pelt, that means its time to get her back.
 
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#15
The sequence of pics shows how much she relaxed over the hike.

Obviously you're doing something right to get her there :) The same thing doesn't work with every dog and I can see you've worked hard to figure out what clicks for Serenity to not only teach her what you want, but to do it within parameters that allow her to relax and let go of fear.
 

TahlzK

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Thank you. She relaxed more and more, she really showed me how relaxed she was when she had no reaction to the actions Zoe did, which would normally set her off. Since I thought I was going to put her down, I said she had til the end of this year, I'd give her my all and I'd judge her then. Well, she is doing amazing, I do believe I'm doing it right and she is improving in leaps and bounds!


So, thanks. It was nice to see she had no fear today.
 

TahlzK

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Thank you!!

I have to add a few more photos. We went on a massive hike and Serenity did these actions by herself and i thought they made for cute photos.

no, she wasn't afraid, she was standing this way due to the hill;


















 

sillysally

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The sequence of pics shows how much she relaxed over the hike.

Obviously you're doing something right to get her there :) The same thing doesn't work with every dog and I can see you've worked hard to figure out what clicks for Serenity to not only teach her what you want, but to do it within parameters that allow her to relax and let go of fear.
This.

She is a beautiful dog and does seem to be having a good time!
 

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