Spinal Tap movie clip - These Go to Eleven
Barking
Last night was my first night of ignoring her nighttime barking episodes.
I was ready to go - I closed all of the windows (thankfully we have double pane windows) and got out my earplugs. I was ready for whatever I had to endure.
It started as soon as I laid down to go to sleep.
Now, I knew that she didn't pee on that last trip out to the yard. The neighbor's baby was crying, Grace was pacing and stressed outside, so I figured she would have to pee sometime during the night. On that first bark I let her out and sure enough she peed outside right away (and finally got her "I peed before bed" cookie that she didn't get before.)
Then I went back up to bed.
And....it started.
Bark #1 earplugs in
Bark #2 ignore
Bark #3 ignore
Bark #4 ignore
Last night was my first night of ignoring her nighttime barking episodes.
I was ready to go - I closed all of the windows (thankfully we have double pane windows) and got out my earplugs. I was ready for whatever I had to endure.
It started as soon as I laid down to go to sleep.
Now, I knew that she didn't pee on that last trip out to the yard. The neighbor's baby was crying, Grace was pacing and stressed outside, so I figured she would have to pee sometime during the night. On that first bark I let her out and sure enough she peed outside right away (and finally got her "I peed before bed" cookie that she didn't get before.)
Then I went back up to bed.
And....it started.
Bark #1 earplugs in
Bark #2 ignore
Bark #3 ignore
Bark #4 ignore
Bark #5 ignore
Bark #6 ignore
Bark #7 ignore
Bark #8 "Hail Mary, full of grace...."
Bark #9 ignore
Bark #10 "Our Father who art in Heaven..."
Bark #11 ignore
SILENCE!!!!!!!! Thank you Jesus!!!!
Seriously....I prayed. That's how much I did NOT want to listen to barking!
Grace went all the way up to eleven.
Then she went to sleep on her bed.
Here's hoping tonight she only goes to eleven as well...or even lowers it a bit :)
Bark #6 ignore
Bark #7 ignore
Bark #8 "Hail Mary, full of grace...."
Bark #9 ignore
Bark #10 "Our Father who art in Heaven..."
Bark #11 ignore
SILENCE!!!!!!!! Thank you Jesus!!!!
Seriously....I prayed. That's how much I did NOT want to listen to barking!
Grace went all the way up to eleven.
Then she went to sleep on her bed.
Here's hoping tonight she only goes to eleven as well...or even lowers it a bit :)
Walking
Good walk this morning! I was proud of her again for not pulling. We had one anxious moment when a baby was being pushed towards us in one of those little push cars. Grace freaked for a moment, but then settled down as soon as the baby passed! Remember, this is an improvement because she used to pull all the way home. I am not sure if it is because she is getting used to the kids (I hope so!) or....if she is catching onto the "If you pull, you are not getting home any faster" strategy. I don't think I talked about it yet, but last week I started doing something different when she would start pulling. Instead of walking faster to keep up with her, or pulling her back like a horse, I would stop and slowly count to 5 in my mind. No matter how many times I have to stop, I make sure I do it. My goal is to try to teach her that pulling will not get you home faster. It will get you home slower. So, I am not sure which thing is really the reason for her reduced pulling.
This afternoon we tried a 4:30pm walk - when it is a little busier out there. I could tell she was a bit more anxious - more people outside, people wanting to stop and talk, kids outside, etc. So we made this a shorter walk. She did start to pull on the way home, so I did my 5 second stopping. She improved as we got closer to home.
The night walk went smoothly. She only got anxious when we passed a man who wanted to talk, a house that was having people over for a party, and a couple who were out walking. She continued her progress of relaxing after the stressor was passed instead of pulling all the way home. When we passed the couple, they asked why Grace was so scared so I told them about her. They said, "I'm sorry" as if they felt bad for me. I told them not to be sorry, and that in a few months she will come up to them for pets and love.
Still have trouble inside the house - getting her to the door to go for a walk is an issue, then once the collar is on she is a statue in the house. Only progress here is that once we are outside she does not statue at the gate anymore - she follows me right out. I need to get on the desensitization/counter conditioning thing. I will admit, I just totally forgot about it today. Bad me!
Pet First Aid / CPR
Today I took a wonderful Pet First Aid/ CPR class. If you live near me in California, I highly recommend taking a class with Denise Fleck at Sunny-dog Ink. It was a hands-on class where I learned a TON of invaluable information about dog and cat first aid, CPR, and care. I already know human CPR, but it was excellent to learn the differences for pets. You never know when you might need this - not only for YOUR pet, but perhaps for another person's loved one.
Good walk this morning! I was proud of her again for not pulling. We had one anxious moment when a baby was being pushed towards us in one of those little push cars. Grace freaked for a moment, but then settled down as soon as the baby passed! Remember, this is an improvement because she used to pull all the way home. I am not sure if it is because she is getting used to the kids (I hope so!) or....if she is catching onto the "If you pull, you are not getting home any faster" strategy. I don't think I talked about it yet, but last week I started doing something different when she would start pulling. Instead of walking faster to keep up with her, or pulling her back like a horse, I would stop and slowly count to 5 in my mind. No matter how many times I have to stop, I make sure I do it. My goal is to try to teach her that pulling will not get you home faster. It will get you home slower. So, I am not sure which thing is really the reason for her reduced pulling.
This afternoon we tried a 4:30pm walk - when it is a little busier out there. I could tell she was a bit more anxious - more people outside, people wanting to stop and talk, kids outside, etc. So we made this a shorter walk. She did start to pull on the way home, so I did my 5 second stopping. She improved as we got closer to home.
The night walk went smoothly. She only got anxious when we passed a man who wanted to talk, a house that was having people over for a party, and a couple who were out walking. She continued her progress of relaxing after the stressor was passed instead of pulling all the way home. When we passed the couple, they asked why Grace was so scared so I told them about her. They said, "I'm sorry" as if they felt bad for me. I told them not to be sorry, and that in a few months she will come up to them for pets and love.
Still have trouble inside the house - getting her to the door to go for a walk is an issue, then once the collar is on she is a statue in the house. Only progress here is that once we are outside she does not statue at the gate anymore - she follows me right out. I need to get on the desensitization/counter conditioning thing. I will admit, I just totally forgot about it today. Bad me!
Pet First Aid / CPR
Today I took a wonderful Pet First Aid/ CPR class. If you live near me in California, I highly recommend taking a class with Denise Fleck at Sunny-dog Ink. It was a hands-on class where I learned a TON of invaluable information about dog and cat first aid, CPR, and care. I already know human CPR, but it was excellent to learn the differences for pets. You never know when you might need this - not only for YOUR pet, but perhaps for another person's loved one.
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| This was super cute this morning! |
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| I like to have my head on the floor even though my bed is big enough. |
Good job on the barking. I think once she sees she will not get a response from you she will stop.
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