Patience Pays

I've mentioned our newest addition Bubbles the bulldog (aka Osama bin Bubbles, Bubble-snot, Boo-Snooty, etc.) and our trials and tribulations with her integration into our pack.

I think we've finally made progress.

Bubbles defies explanation if you must insist that she has a fully functioning brain. Stubborn, persistent, headstrong - typical of many bulldogs. What's not typical is that she can be more hyper than a Labbybrat on speed. She is now used to her prong collar, and will sometimes even sit still while we put it on her. She hardly ever hits the end of the leash like she used to, apparently not liking the backflips it produced. At night we were forced to crate her in our garage because she would bark if left crated in the house. (Remember, all of our dogs are indoor dogs.)

Over the past few months I have noticed a steady mellowing, and the night before last I decided to give her a chance to sleep in the house. Total quiet. Even my husband admitted he was surprised to see her in the crate the next morning. Again last night. Two nights in a row is a record run of good behavior for our challenging bully-girl.

I've been working her with a clicker, but it's difficult to work with her with food treats because she is food-crazy and the sight of a treat will send her into a frenzy. (This works to our advantage when we want her to crate however, and give her the command, "Crate for cookie!" She will then run over anyone or thing in her way to get into her crate.) We've had many one-on-one sessions working out in the yard working on our walking skills. (Notice I did not say heeling - I'm trying to not set her up for failures. We don't do heel, we work on walking nice. Heel can come later.)

Even my dubious husband has noticed the improvement in her character and has actually volunteered to walk her several times. One night I even caught him smiling at her while he scratched her head.

Right before she jumped and pounded her foot into his stomach.

Okay, so we still have a ways to go yet, but it is progress.

There're many approaches I could have taken with training her, ranging from mild to extremely draconian in nature. I opted to let her personality guide me rather than adhere to a strict regimen, and it has paid off. When she has receptive days (or moments) I take full advantage of them. On her "off" days where training obviously isn't going to work, I lay off and focus only on basics like "walk nice" (which for her isn't a heeling position, but isn't yanking on the leash either ahead or behind me) and "wait" at the door.

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