How To Keep Yourself Calm

Isis (left Boxer), Jinx (right Boxer) and Kratos at the hotel.

While Isis has been taking this hotel detour with more grace then I would expect from her, we still have been working on keeping her calm. But what happens when you aren't calm? Perhaps you are like me and have an anxiety problem or maybe you're "once bitten twice shy" type. Whatever your reason, one thing is for sure. We need to control our anxieties just as much as our dogs.

So, when you feel the anxiety start to build in yourself, what do you do?

1. Sing a song and make it funny!
I promise your dog won't judge your singing voice. Singing requires your breath to be even and smooth which in turn will keep you from hyperventilating. Below are Isis' and Jinx's songs that I sing to them.

Isis' Song is set to the tune of 'Mary had a little lamb' & Jinx's Song is set to the 'Flintstone Theme'

"Isis is a bad dog,                       "Doodle, doodle doodle, she's a very bad dog she is.
bad dog, bad dog                       From the bed to the park down by the street.
Isis is a bad dog.                         She's the baddest dog you'll ever met."
Why? oh why bad dog?

Bad dog likes her chicken.
Her chicken, her chicken.
Bad dog likes her chicken.
Why? oh why bad dog?"

2. Use Code Words.
It's fun, you'll know if something is coming your way and so "oh shit"doesn't mean everything from a car flying towards you to a loose dog.

If you go for walks with other people, get them used to "Code words" for different scenarios but use ones that aren't alarming to the dog. For us, "Free Spirit(s)" = loose dog(s), "Sassafras" = Panic, too many triggers, get dog out of situation. "Hunters" = people, "Convoy" = cars

3. The "Tense & Relax"
The tense and relax is what I personally use to calm down if I am beyond over threshold. I wouldn't do this with a dog that is really sensitive to the leash but Isis doesn't mind. What you are going to do is hold your breath for 10 seconds. While you're holding your breath simultaneously tense every single muscle in your body. After, the 10 seconds slowly let out that breath while relaxing your muscles. You'll find this usually only takes once for your body to calm down. Still a little anxious? Try it again.

Have another method for calming yourself down? I'd love to hear it. Not all methods work with everybody but they can sure help.

Training Calender for Isis' & Jinx's Training

My family is quite wonderful with allowing me to keep these two Boxers even though they have successfully turned our lives upside down. Now, my mother and brother are surprisingly much much more organized then I am. So, I naturally asked the for help when it came to making a schedule that I could use for Isis and Jinx. The calender is based off of a month with two separate sessions in the day. The first two weeks are for training each behavior while the last two weeks are for testing the dog's understanding of said behavior. The behaviors represented in the calender are based off of Sue Ailsby's New Training Levels. (Found for sale: Here) along with others that I'm using to curb and help Isis/ Jinx cope with their respective triggers. The links to those behaviors are also placed within the calender.

Now, all I ask is that this is used for personal use only and not for profit. I hope it helps anybody that is willing to use it. Below is a link to the PDF version. Have fun training!!


Training Calender-PDF Version

Training Goals for Jinx This Summer (2013)

I’m just sitting here thinking about my training goals for Jinx this summer. I really want to set some concrete goals for this year even though not all of them will get done within the summer. It's just making me really really want to be in the new house. You'll notice that a lot of the goals for Jinx are close to Isis' goals.

Here’s what I’m hoping will be accomplished with Jinx this summer:

• Loose Leash-  Jinx is relatively good on the leash. She tends to get the leash tight when faced with scary people. I want to work towards her CGC and the heeling needs to be done.

• Attention Work - Yep, just like with Isis, I've poisoned my "watch" command so I'm retraining my main attention command as "Eyes". I'll be using Sue Ailsby method that that.
  

• 3 Passive Human Interactions - Jinx is terrified of new people so I'm looking to get her used to my father's business partner, his wife and their son at the very least. Hopefully no reactions on the walks will be part of this.
• Zen - Food Zen to be precise. Jinx does not have very good control when it comes to food. In fact she is a food thief when it come the other dog's food. Well, mostly Isis' food, she leaves Kratos' food alone.

• Nose Work - I'm going to be working with the 3 pups on Birch plus it will give them something to do and entertain their minds. Jinx is pretty nosy so this shouldn't be hard for her.

• Go To Place/Crate - Jinx is pretty good about going to her crate but she lacks the speed that I would like her to have. I'll be doing crate games with her too. Her place will just be brushed up on because she is a not lying on the mat anymore but beside it.
• Recall - Jinx likes to give the boxer "What's in it for me?" look. And when she does, it's really ssssslllloooooowwww. Everything Jinx does is slow :P
• Emergency U-Turn - For use on walks. Jinx would rather follow me so I'd like to put it on cue.

• Some Weird Issue That Will Suddenly Develop - Now, we all know Jinx is a big weirdo so she'll probably act weird and some crazy new annoying behavior will pop up within the year. Maybe, I'll tackle her food problems.

Please Share

What your training goals are for the summer. Do you have an issue that you are struggling through too?

Baseline & Off leash dogs

I finally have a baseline for Isis' Human Reactivity. In case anybody wants to know, it's about 40ft with the person sitting down. A lovely girl at the hotel was willing to sit there for us in exchange for a ride up to the store which I was more than happy to oblige.

Another thing, I noticed that around this hotel in NC most people will keep their doors open and just let their dogs run free. Thankfully, this hasn't happened with Jinx or Isis but it has happened with Kratos. Kratos is okay with dogs, only getting aggressive when dogs mess with his ears too much. But this still shouldn't happen for him just cause he won't fight back if attacked.

I can't wait to get into the new house.

Trigger Stacking in the Hotel Room

Trigger stacking is a BAT (Behavior Adjustment Training) term that refers to times when multiple triggers combine to make the dog behave differently then in the presence of any of those triggers individually.

Isis' triggers are various. Including unknown Humans (&Anything that comes with them), unknown Dogs (Any kind), bicycles, skateboards, birds, Vehicles (Semis & Trucks are the worst), loud noises, rain and thunder storms. Along with many more things to be discovered.

Jinx's triggers are unknown humans, unknown dogs, vehicles and loud noises. Easy compared to Isis.

So in turn, being in a hotel room is not exactly the best place for her or Jinx to be. It's complete trigger stacking here. There are unknown Humans and dogs everywhere. But it will be at least another week before we can move into our house. Then a Detox and Relaxation Protocol for the new house.

 On a lighter note, Jinx and Isis have turned 5 years old today.