Update: Kameko is doing really well. No growling/nipping at all since the day I posted about it. She is getting a little too rough when playing so I have modified how we play and that seems to help. She has learned how to "be gentle" when taking food/treats out of my hand over the last few days. She has also learned "back up". If she is being a bit obnoxious/over bearing to get what she wants I can say "back up" and she scoots back and sits down. Went to the vet and she is healthy (still waiting on the blood work that was sent off) but everything done in-office was normal and our vet says she looks fantastic and he has no concerns health-wise. She does have 2 loose teeth. The behaviorist thinks she was resource guarding severely due to the crate being hers and hers alone (that's her place, her toys, her blankie/bed, she was eating in there, etc.) so she recommended feeding her outside the crate. I had already started doing that and it seems to have helped tremendously. She suggested more outings and triple the socialization efforts, which I am doing. Our daily walks and every other day trips to the park or pet stores have become multiple daily walks around the neighborhood and daily outings (except Sunday- we skipped the outing and just played in the backyard).
So we will be off to run more 'doggie errands' today...... I see major improvements in her behavior. We hit Lowe's, parks and the pet stores, anyone know of other dog friendly places in central Alabama? (We do not go to dog parks so any ideas other than that?)
Thank you to everyone who offered advice, motivation, shared your experiences and sent Kameko some good juju We appreciate it!
Update: It has been a couple months since I updated and I wanted to let everyone know how she is doing.
We made a few changes, worked really hard and continue to do so and she is doing wonderfully. The vet and trainer believe that teething and a few small things were the causes for her distress/behavior issues. Once we changed things up a bit and modified to meet her specific needs/temperament- you couldn't ask for a better pup! She is amazing and such a love bug these days! She will be 6 months old on the 18th
And of course..... pictures This one was taken a while back...
The first thing we did was move her crate downstairs and now her crate is the only crate down here so she can escape to her quiet space. We quit feeding her in her crate and for a time (and still on occasion) I hand fed her. We lock the gate separating the upstairs/downstairs to separate the dogs for a little while before and a while after she eats. We took her 'special' toys and put them in a separate toy box for her- we still have the toy boxes for everyone and she shares those toys just fine now that she sees her toys are 'safe'. We worked on teaching her better manners (teaching her not to worry... the food is coming. "No need to shred anyone to bits or knock me down the stairs.... it's yours and yours alone!") with and without food involved and that has helped tremendously with her food manners and she is calm at feeding time now and she sits and waits patiently for the 'go' word. She only gets chewies in her crate or when the gate is locked. I stopped giving them any kind of treats when they are outside or romping around the house together. And a few other things that I can't think of LOL She is just sensitive and highly reactive over high value things so we had to modify the way we do/handle things. We don't want to set her up to fail in a situation so we are doing our best to teach her and show her that all is well.
@rikumom, thank you She is totally worth the effort and I would go to any lengths for her (and our other pups). She really is a great girl and such a comedian..... she makes me laugh often with her silly antics!
Comments
Kameko is doing really well. No growling/nipping at all since the day I posted about it. She is getting a little too rough when playing so I have modified how we play and that seems to help. She has learned how to "be gentle" when taking food/treats out of my hand over the last few days. She has also learned "back up". If she is being a bit obnoxious/over bearing to get what she wants I can say "back up" and she scoots back and sits down.
Went to the vet and she is healthy (still waiting on the blood work that was sent off) but everything done in-office was normal and our vet says she looks fantastic and he has no concerns health-wise. She does have 2 loose teeth. The behaviorist thinks she was resource guarding severely due to the crate being hers and hers alone (that's her place, her toys, her blankie/bed, she was eating in there, etc.) so she recommended feeding her outside the crate. I had already started doing that and it seems to have helped tremendously. She suggested more outings and triple the socialization efforts, which I am doing. Our daily walks and every other day trips to the park or pet stores have become multiple daily walks around the neighborhood and daily outings (except Sunday- we skipped the outing and just played in the backyard).
So we will be off to run more 'doggie errands' today...... I see major improvements in her behavior. We hit Lowe's, parks and the pet stores, anyone know of other dog friendly places in central Alabama? (We do not go to dog parks so any ideas other than that?)
Thank you to everyone who offered advice, motivation, shared your experiences and sent Kameko some good juju
"I know the toy I want is in here!"
It has been a couple months since I updated and I wanted to let everyone know how she is doing.
We made a few changes, worked really hard and continue to do so and she is doing wonderfully. The vet and trainer believe that teething and a few small things were the causes for her distress/behavior issues. Once we changed things up a bit and modified to meet her specific needs/temperament- you couldn't ask for a better pup! She is amazing and such a love bug these days! She will be 6 months old on the 18th
And of course..... pictures
This one was taken a while back...
Not sure when this was taken but I love it lol
Love this....