Luna is a Great Dane x English Mastiff mix pup chosen as a candidate for Mobility work for a handler with Narcolepsy w/ Cataplexy. Follow her journey from birth to graduation covering all of her training and adventures.
Mealtimes here are broken into three at this age for Luna. There are no hard or fast rules for what meal gets what treatment but meals are not just bowl fed and go.
BREAKFAST is usually fed from a KONG - either a frozen or a Wobbler
LUNCH is usually done by training session - so essentially hand fed as we go
DINNER is usually half and half of the above - some used for training and then the rest fed through an enrichment toy or puzzle. This helps her settle much better at night in the kennel.
Here is a mini training session we recently had with her lunch.
It's important to train the "pup that shows up" - meaning being fluid enough to adapt your sessions and training style to the dog as they are in that moment in front of you, not try to force your expectations on them.
She was excited in the beginning to train but then she was just like - nope - just feed me now. There is no point in making her frustrated or me getting angry at her not doing what I asked - besides the fact that she is a baby baby still - making training a chore or something the dog avoids does no one any good so we wrapped it up and she had lunch.
We have been working on Luna's frustration levels in regards to being contained in the car, behind a baby gate and in the crate. She is making fabulous progress in under a week.
I am using a system of capturing and shaping her OFFERING behaviors such as getting into the crate, choosing a calm body language like Sit or Down, choosing to remain in the crate on her own, not stressing over the door being closed, not stressing over me going out of sight and finally her remaining quiet at lights out.
This is a long video (11:30min) but shows how we worked through it. She has gone from literally hours of fussing to the occasional few minutes in less than a week.
Containment frustration is a common thing for a lot of dogs. Whenever they are behind any type of barrier - in the car, behind a baby gate, in a crate - and they don't want to be there - they can certainly let you know with no shortage of vocalizations. So what do you do?
First, it's important to understand WHY this is happening. Most barrier issues stem from one of two places - frustration (over excitement or boredom) or anxiety. Not all - but most.
While there are certainly similarities in how you handle it - it is important to identify the CAUSE instead of just lumping it as a bad behavior and throwing a cookie cutter solution at it.
LUNA started the week VERY frustrated at any separation. The car ride home was a tribute song to her people and the first night in the kennel was very, very long. Neither of us got much sleep!
So why do this? Why kennel her? Why not just let her out? How can you listen to that and not SAVE THEM!!
The answer is threefold:
All dogs need to learn to cope with stressors but especially Service Dog candidates. Trust me - there is a difference between a panic cry which would be addressed and general frustration.
Just like the divided camps of letting babies cry it out in the cot - trainers are divided on this issue as well. I fall in the middle. I will let a pup cry if it is a much higher level of frustration than actual distress and do not open the door if they are in an all out tantrum. This WILL teach them if they cry longer, harder, more intensely - you will give in and let them out.
Obviously if you live in an apartment or have a living situation where you can't allow this to happen, you have to have a different plan but in my case here, my dogs and I are the only ones effected.
I honestly believe ALL dogs should be crate trained, regardless of if you are going to use a crate as part of their daily routine or not. If the first time your dog ever goes into a crate is at the vet or the groomers - this is VERY stressful for them. I include crate training in every dogs life, just like any other part of the HAPPY HANDLING series for vetting and grooming. This is the same reason I believe all dogs should be taught to wear a muzzle - if the first time they ever have to is when they are in pain or shock from an accident - it causes a huge amount of stress.
Luna will not be sleeping with me, as much as we both may want it. People ask how can I let a dog go after they have been with me for so long, and this is one of the ways that happens. Imagine how bonded she would be to me if I spend all this time training and living with her but create no coping skills for independence. She can sleep with Daishia to increase their bond and sleep in her kennel to facilitate independence during her training here.
Her first day - she cried the majority of the ride in the car, anytime I closed a gate between us and for almost 2 hours that night, then anytime she woke up. A very long and unsettled night for all of us. Gryphon actually came and stood by the bed staring at me like - Moooooom - Do something!
Keep in mind - this is perfectly understandable - she is away from her littermates for the first time, away from home and everything she knows - she has been in the cars for days and like an overstimulated toddler - she is just overwhelmed.
It will get better as we work on it. If she is out WITH me, she settles and sleeps beautifully. She has adopted a spot in the kitchen and will go there to rest whenever she gets sleepy. She fell asleep chewing her cow ear the other night. She just wants to not be separated which is understandable.
Day 2, we had 45min of crying and were starting to see breaks in it of up to a few minutes instead of a few seconds.
Day 3, we are seeing improvements again - I think in about a week or so we should have this much more under control!
