otherpsychotichalf
New member
@bama_girl Unfortunately, not as many updates as I would like. I do plan to write another post when I feel I have more to update on.
We hired a trainer but have only met with her once for an initial evaluation. It was really helpful though! She gave us a ton of exercises to work on with our dog. With it being winter and having to go through first trimester symptoms, it was hard getting training in at the park with kids around. We also took in a foster dog and have been focused on him for a little bit. Hopefully he will be adopted soon so we can focus on our dog's training again.
The one exercise we have been more diligently working on is mat training. (i.e., getting our dog to relax on a specific mat). Whenever this one mat comes out, my dog knows to lay down on it. Our plan is to start bringing the mat with us to public places and teaching him to relax with distractions around. I can see this exercise going a long way. It's already been somewhat helpful getting my dog to calm down when my husband goes on a run without him. When my dog sees my husband run away from the house, he goes a little crazy, pace around the house, and howl. When I put the mat out, he calms down a little bit. He still has a ways to go, but I can already see improvements and how it can be used when the baby arrives.
Our trainer also didn't seem as worried about our situation, which made me feel a little better. She said she has worked with dogs that seemed more aggressive than our dog, but was fine with the family baby. But she emphasized the importance of all this training because (1) all dogs are different and (2) even if our dog turned out to be OK with our baby, it doesn't mean he will be OK with other kids and we should train him for potential play dates at our house.
I am due late July and definitely plan to give an update on that whole transition.
We hired a trainer but have only met with her once for an initial evaluation. It was really helpful though! She gave us a ton of exercises to work on with our dog. With it being winter and having to go through first trimester symptoms, it was hard getting training in at the park with kids around. We also took in a foster dog and have been focused on him for a little bit. Hopefully he will be adopted soon so we can focus on our dog's training again.
The one exercise we have been more diligently working on is mat training. (i.e., getting our dog to relax on a specific mat). Whenever this one mat comes out, my dog knows to lay down on it. Our plan is to start bringing the mat with us to public places and teaching him to relax with distractions around. I can see this exercise going a long way. It's already been somewhat helpful getting my dog to calm down when my husband goes on a run without him. When my dog sees my husband run away from the house, he goes a little crazy, pace around the house, and howl. When I put the mat out, he calms down a little bit. He still has a ways to go, but I can already see improvements and how it can be used when the baby arrives.
Our trainer also didn't seem as worried about our situation, which made me feel a little better. She said she has worked with dogs that seemed more aggressive than our dog, but was fine with the family baby. But she emphasized the importance of all this training because (1) all dogs are different and (2) even if our dog turned out to be OK with our baby, it doesn't mean he will be OK with other kids and we should train him for potential play dates at our house.
I am due late July and definitely plan to give an update on that whole transition.