Ninja's Re-Socialization Process!
Today I dropped off Ninja at 8am at the daycare which my behaviorist owns. She was going to put him in a pen in the small dog room. But she said once they stepped in, his hackles were up the whole time. So she decided not to go that route. Instead, she put him in the office with her and the co-owners dogs. They have windows, so after about 10 minutes, they let me take a peak in. He was doing pretty good. All dogs were around, and he was just walking around. Once he saw me he started trying to get to me through the window. I watched for about 15 minutes or so and then left.
I picked him up at 12pm. I brought Portia along because I figured if im taking Ninja to be re-socialized...portia can play with the other dogs too. When I got there my behaviorist said - I totally forgot you had another dog. It would have been much better if we had her here with him. But overall he did a great job. They said 20 minutes after I left they put him in his own room to have a 20 minute break. She said he was scratching at the door for about 2 minutes and then jumped on the desk and was looking at them through the window. After the break, they let him out to do what he wanted (in a controlled environment of course!). She said there was only 1 time where she had to correct him. At the time Ninja was laying at the behaviorists feet and a camera guy walked in. Ninja got up and growled at him and she told Ninja to get out of the room. She said that no guarding behavior is allowed. But other than that, he would only growl when Men would come into the room and growled at some dogs when they would come up to him. But no bites or fights.
She wanted to see Ninja's behavior around dogs with Portia here. She brought in one of her dogs and Ninja wasn't really paying attention. Portia approached and laid down in front and let the dog sniff her. Then she got excited and jumped up. The behavirorists dog growled and continued to growl. This got Ninjas attention. She grabbed her dog and stuck his butt towards portia and ninja to smell. Everything was fine after that. like 5 minutes later, her dog approaches Ninja and sniffs his face. Ninja growled and then snapped. I grabbed Ninja's lead and pulled him back and the behaviorist said "no, no...don't grab the leash!" so i dropped it. And everything was fine. She said "my dog approached ninja in a very rude way, ninja growled telling him to back off and he didn't. that's my dogs fault. Ninja just gave him a correction, like hey, back off, i mean it. The only time I saw Ninja get tense was when you grabbed his leash to pull him back. My dog already backed off when ninja snapped, so everything was fine. That isn't aggression, its just a warning...Ninja is filled with fear...but I really don't think he is aggressive, just scared."
I apologized and she said "its ok, i know...its scary because you don't know how he will react. But that was nothing, very minor. If it was a dog fight, there would be a lot more noise and you would just see fur and legs everywhere. That was just a correction, which my dog deserved."
She said overall, he had a great day. He would start waiting at the gate for the other girl workers to come in. He was sniffing them and going up to them. He started letting the other dogs sniff him and he started sniffing them. It was very awesome to hear! She estimated in 6 months she thinks he will be a pretty well behaved dog but still have some fear towards new things. But she still advised me that even after he gets over some of his fears - it would still be good to bring him by just to be around new dogs and people. Right now she advised me to bring both Portia and Ninja once a week for 4 hours. This is just being in the office. Maybe after 2 months, Portia will be ready for the small dog room and ninja will be ready to be in a pen in the small dog room. But I am to call ahead before coming to be sure that one of the behaviorists will be there to watch and introduce new things to them.
I am really happy that Ninja did so well - except for when i f-ed up and grabbed his lead. So starting next week, I will be taking the dogs to daycare once a week for socialization. And maybe for longer periods of time depending on how long it takes for Ninja to get comfortable. But overall, im stoked for my little man!
I picked him up at 12pm. I brought Portia along because I figured if im taking Ninja to be re-socialized...portia can play with the other dogs too. When I got there my behaviorist said - I totally forgot you had another dog. It would have been much better if we had her here with him. But overall he did a great job. They said 20 minutes after I left they put him in his own room to have a 20 minute break. She said he was scratching at the door for about 2 minutes and then jumped on the desk and was looking at them through the window. After the break, they let him out to do what he wanted (in a controlled environment of course!). She said there was only 1 time where she had to correct him. At the time Ninja was laying at the behaviorists feet and a camera guy walked in. Ninja got up and growled at him and she told Ninja to get out of the room. She said that no guarding behavior is allowed. But other than that, he would only growl when Men would come into the room and growled at some dogs when they would come up to him. But no bites or fights.
She wanted to see Ninja's behavior around dogs with Portia here. She brought in one of her dogs and Ninja wasn't really paying attention. Portia approached and laid down in front and let the dog sniff her. Then she got excited and jumped up. The behavirorists dog growled and continued to growl. This got Ninjas attention. She grabbed her dog and stuck his butt towards portia and ninja to smell. Everything was fine after that. like 5 minutes later, her dog approaches Ninja and sniffs his face. Ninja growled and then snapped. I grabbed Ninja's lead and pulled him back and the behaviorist said "no, no...don't grab the leash!" so i dropped it. And everything was fine. She said "my dog approached ninja in a very rude way, ninja growled telling him to back off and he didn't. that's my dogs fault. Ninja just gave him a correction, like hey, back off, i mean it. The only time I saw Ninja get tense was when you grabbed his leash to pull him back. My dog already backed off when ninja snapped, so everything was fine. That isn't aggression, its just a warning...Ninja is filled with fear...but I really don't think he is aggressive, just scared."
I apologized and she said "its ok, i know...its scary because you don't know how he will react. But that was nothing, very minor. If it was a dog fight, there would be a lot more noise and you would just see fur and legs everywhere. That was just a correction, which my dog deserved."
She said overall, he had a great day. He would start waiting at the gate for the other girl workers to come in. He was sniffing them and going up to them. He started letting the other dogs sniff him and he started sniffing them. It was very awesome to hear! She estimated in 6 months she thinks he will be a pretty well behaved dog but still have some fear towards new things. But she still advised me that even after he gets over some of his fears - it would still be good to bring him by just to be around new dogs and people. Right now she advised me to bring both Portia and Ninja once a week for 4 hours. This is just being in the office. Maybe after 2 months, Portia will be ready for the small dog room and ninja will be ready to be in a pen in the small dog room. But I am to call ahead before coming to be sure that one of the behaviorists will be there to watch and introduce new things to them.
I am really happy that Ninja did so well - except for when i f-ed up and grabbed his lead. So starting next week, I will be taking the dogs to daycare once a week for socialization. And maybe for longer periods of time depending on how long it takes for Ninja to get comfortable. But overall, im stoked for my little man!
Comments
Hopefully things will continue to progress in a happy healthy way. Give Ninja a little love from us here in VA! And Portia too! She deserves a little love for going along with it!
----
But he did well, my vet wasn't there, so there was a new vet. I had talked to the vet tech who always works with Ninja and he assured me that this vet was very good and not to worry. The new vet called me into a room with Ninja just to chat about him. Ninja was growling now. I asked him some questions and talked about some things and asked what usually happens when I bring Ninja here. So I told him that they usually take Ninja back and do everything while I wait in the waiting room. Chris (the vet tech) usually works with him, so he knows his personality and issues. So I went back to the waiting room while he took Ninja to the back.
About 10 minutes later he comes out with Ninja. Im giving him lots of praise and getting him excited. The vet said that Ninja was very well behaved. He wasn't growling or showing his teeth when he was examining him or giving the shots. He body was tense, which is expected, but overall, he was surprised. He was expecting him to growl or scatter on the table, but he just stood there and let them do their thing. AWESOME NEWS!
When I go to drop off Ninja and Portia on Monday, I'm going to have to ask my behaviorist more questions about approaching dogs and what I should do or if Ninja is approaching a dog and wants to sniff, how do I know if it's safe or not. It seems like he's becoming more curious of people and dogs, and I don't want him not to move forward because I'm worried and not allowing him to do so.
So, we will see what she says.
I'll be curious to hear what the behaviorist has to say. But for now, hugs to Ninja for being such a good boy. :-)
In all seriousness sounds like he is doing so well.
I know that I telegraph a lot of my neuroses onto my pups at the vet, especially Piggy in the waiting room, and if I can chill out she does so much better. So much of it is training US more than our dogs. You are doing all the right things. And I think that is fantastic!
Good job lady!
O M F G....
They were BOTH in the Small Dog room OFF LEAD!!!!
I was in shock. I can't believe it. Dogs were jumping on him, he was jumping on them, he was sniffing, they were sniffing, he was meeting FACE TO FACE - NOTHING!!!
I cried! I was so happy and in shock, I was shaking. I just could not believe that was Ninja. Even the workers in there were petting him. He was willingly going up to be pet!!!
CAN YOU BELIEVE THAT?!!?! I still cant.
This is his second session of re-socialization and he is already in the small dog room off lead. How AWESOME IS THAT??!?!
When I came in, the receptionist spoke into her walkie and said "Can you please get Ninja and Portia ready to go in the small dog room, their mom is here to pick them up". So I was like oh, they put them in the pen. I look in and there is no pen. And then I see Ninja and Portia walking around following one of the girl workers around. My mouth dropped. Like a minute later, the other behaviorist comes out and said - isn't that awesome!? I was like HELL YES!!!
She said that she put Ninja and Portia in her office with her dogs and Ninja seemed WAY cool. He didn't really pay attention to the other dogs and there was NO growling and he was sniffing them and letting them sniff him. So after 30 minutes, she decided to put them both in the pen in the small dog room. They were both doing good, so she let Portia out after 30 minutes. Ninja started trying to get out of the pen, so after another 30 minutes she let him out and he was totally fine. Just wanted to be out and free like everyone else. No growls, no snaps, NOTHING! She said she called the other behaviorist to give her the good news and she was shocked that he was able to be in the small dog room after just 1 previous session. They both have high hopes for him, especially since he is doing so well already.
I am so happy right now. I don't even know how to explain it!!!
Keep up the good work, Ninja!
Go NInja, Go Ninja, Go!! Go NInja, Go Ninja, Go!!
I cant wait till Sasha is like that, but we are getting there!
I will have to bring my camera next monday so I can show you the proof! It is so unbelievable to watch, I feel like this is a dream!
I have to thank ALL of you guys who helped me with Ninja and his issues. I am SOOOOO grateful that I found this forum!
Special Big THANK YOU to Brad and Jen
No need to thank any of us, you have been on this forum documenting your search for the right person to help Ninja from the very beginning! You are a model dog owner!
----
That is AWESOME! I'm so happy for you. What a big improvement.
Maybe now we can take both our dogs together on hikes and outings now. Careful not to "push it" of course. So long as Ninja is comfortable and secure, he'll be okay. I'm excited! Yay!
Ninja doesn't have a problem walking WITH dogs. His issues come out when dogs approach him for a sniff. He becomes fearful when dogs approach, but if he can sniff them and approach them first, he seems more comfortable being around them and letting them sniff. So I dont' think there will be any issues with taking all our dogs out for a hike or nice outing.
Thanks for the kind words Brad...but still...I owe you BIG TIME! This forum has made me the dog owner I am today!
http://wagsnwiggles2.viewmydog.com/lanmpegview0.htm - you can go to camera select and click on small dog (there are 2 different views)
IM SO HAPPY!
*edit* Oops! looks like he decided to find another spot.
Kyla - Yea, Portia is a very small girl! She only weighs 35 lbs.