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A Normal Week

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Hello, and how are you? Have you had a good week? Mine was very mixed–which I guess is normal (and as I get older, I am aware that ‘normal’ is very precious!)

My main emphasis has been my M.A. dissertation, which is so nearly finished and ready to submit, but not quite. I have a feeling the ‘not quite‘ stage might last a very long time. I am currently proofreading, and checking things like spellings and references. Every time I discuss the work of another scholar, I have to write a footnote, so my claims can be checked. The first footnote has to have their name, and all the information of the book/paper/article, plus the page number. Subsequent footnotes can just have the author’s name and the page number. My problem is that over the months, I have edited my work and various citations have moved around my document, so the first footnote (with all the picky details) is now near the end, and a later footnote (with no details) is near the beginning. I therefore need to check that the relevant information is attached to the correct place, and this takes much longer than you would think. However, despite interruptions from the puppy and Husband and life, I feel as if I am almost there. Hopefully it will be submitted this week. I will then have completed my course, which seems to have whizzed past in a flash. I would love to continue, and maybe study for a PhD, but we’ll have to see if anyone will take me on (I am pretty old now).

The week has also been dominated by medical appointments–both taking my mum for checks, and sorting my own. Medical appointments are always a hassle, and in my experience they are often cancelled at the last minute–especially MRIs for some strange reason. I was supposed to be having my routine MRI to check the brain tumour hasn’t grown back (no reason to assume it has, but they like to check regularly, just in case). But then, after I had worked out train times and arranged for Husband to look after the animals, it was cancelled. Apparently the machine has broken. This has happened in the past (last time I was actually on the train when they called to cancel). Are MRI machines particularly fragile? Do they break often? (Or, slightly cynical view, do they bump non-urgent cases to make space for urgent ones and prefer to give an excuse that cannot be argued with? I would prefer they were honest if this is the case–I would happily forgo my session in the crash-rattle-tube if someone needs it more.) I also had a blood test cancelled, which was slightly stressful as I truly hate having blood tests, and I was actually on the way when they called to say they couldn’t find the paperwork so not to come until next week. These things happen.

Some fun news is the Goose is definitely female, and has started to lay eggs. She made a pretty pathetic nest by pulling a few sticks into a heap, and laid an egg on top. This has improved over the week, and she has now stolen all the hay from the chicken’s box and made quite a decent nest. I don’t have a gander, so the eggs will be infertile, but she seems happy enough. I started to take the eggs as she laid them, but then one day I lost her. When I searched the garden, I found a new, not very professional, nest hidden behind the oak tree, with Goose sitting on 3 eggs. I had to pick her up and put her back in her cage, before the fox found her. I have now left her with one of her eggs and a chicken egg (which might be fertile). I think the goose eggs will make nice rich cakes. We scrambled one, and the yolk was very large. One egg is about the size of 3 chicken eggs, with a very tough shell.

My only other news is that I have bought a new coat. I hate shopping, but it has been so wet, and it always pours with rain when we go to the woods. There is a woman who I sometimes see in the distance, who has a very long flowing coat that reaches her wellies, and I have been coveting it. Today we went to a garden centre that has lots of equestrian stuff, and there were long, flowing coats for horse-riders. I do not ride, but I rather fancy looking like I do, so I bought one. It’s wonderfully practical, with a hood and pockets and reflective stripes for wearing in the dark. I shall swoosh around the woods looking like I have lost my horse, with mad dog in tow. Perfect.

Hope you have a good week, with not too much horrid stuff and a few little treats, so you can feel that life is ‘normal.’ I also hope it rains (it probably won’t rain for months now, and I won’t be able to test my coat).
Thanks for reading.
Take care.
Love, Anne x

anneethompson.com
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The Police-Dog Trainer

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Yesterday we went to see the man who trained police dog handlers, and now helps people like me. It was an interesting experience. We arrived in a quiet country lane, and he asked me to walk Meg up and down so he could watch what we had done. I prayed that a car wouldn’t pass (and kill us both as she lurched towards it) and set off, feeling nervous. I had fresh turkey in my pocket, and made sure that Meg knew it was there. As we walked, I praised her while she was walking with me, as I’ve been instructed to do, and fed her snippets of turkey. When she pulled, I told her no, telling her: ‘With me!’ (the words I use to keep her on track). We turned after a few metres and returned to the man.

I could see in his eyes that I hadn’t done well, so smiled and asked him to tell me what I needed to change. (Husband told me that while I was walking, the trainer and his partner had watched, making comments about how lovely Meg is, and how like one of their previous dogs, and what a great animal she was. I didn’t know this until afterwards.)

The trainer said I was completely muddling Meg, and she wanted to please me but she didn’t have the first clue what I wanted! He said the constant praise/feeding while we walked made me a food-machine, not a leader, and she didn’t associate the praise with walking well, nor the corrections with pulling. He said I was producing white-noise, and all Meg knew was that when we walk, I talk a lot!

He asked why Meg was wearing a collar and a harness, with the lead attached to both. I explained that she’s too strong for me, and it enables me to control her with both arms. I didn’t say it was what I had been instructed to use at puppy classes, because I didn’t want to waste the lesson with a long diatribe against other trainers. He asked permission to switch the harness for a slip-lead.

A slip-lead is a canvas lead, with a ring, that slips easily both ways making a noose that tightens and releases. I explained that Meg currently has a lovely disposition, and I didn’t want to use pain as a training method in case it encouraged aggressive behaviour. He explained that he also would never use pain, that the fashion in the 80’s of using electric-shock collars, and choker-chains was terrible, and he considered them wrong. He actively disliked owners who train with pain. However, he said a slip-lead was a brief corrective discomfort that released as soon as the dog was in position, and it let her know where to walk. He then showed me.

The trainer took Meg, and walked down the lane. He didn’t speak. Meg walked quietly next to him, and I wondered whether he had hypnotised her. Then she got antsy, and jumped at him. The trainer didn’t react, he waited, completely still, until she was calm, then walked again, and Meg walked with him. A couple of times she started to pull, and he gave a brief tug, Meg self-corrected and the walk continued. They walked calmly down the lane and back again. For the first time, I witnessed Meg being the dog I wanted and the feeling of relief and hope was palpable. Husband and I stared at each other, and laughed. How was this even possible?

The trainer returned, and explained that he hadn’t talked at Meg, because she’s a dog, and dogs don’t talk when they walk together. Nor do they like being touched when outside, and by offering physical affection, I was forcing her to cope with an unnatural behaviour. He also pointed out that after being corrected, Meg had shaken (like she was wet) and he said that was her ‘resetting’ herself, ready to walk how he wanted. He assured me that Meg is a ‘classy bit of kit’ and I just need to learn how to handle her.

The lesson then moved to a small field. He told me to release Meg, which made me very nervous (there was a horse in the next field, and I didn’t know how close the road came). He assured me that Meg is a pack animal, she would be fine, I simply need to behave like the alpha-dog in the pack. We walked away from Meg, and she followed, never going too far. I was taught how to call her, moving my hands to in front of me when she arrived, and then feeding her treats while she sat. I then decide when the sitting would end (not her) by touching her face and ‘walking through her’ when it was time to move. I should not tell her to ‘wait’, instead she must learn that when told to sit, she stays in position until released. She did this for him (recognised his authority) but not for me (recognised I am flakey).

He explained a few facts about working GSD, and why I have been having such problems, and how to solve them. While he spoke Meg went and barked at the horse, and then came and dug a hole at our feet. He said to ignore her, it didn’t matter, and periodically we moved across the field, never calling her, knowing that she would follow because she wanted to be with the pack.

In a nutshell (you can decide for yourself whether you agree) this is what he said:

Working GSD (and I suspect other ‘working’ breeds) are closer to natural animals than pets, and should be treated accordingly. Therefore it’s important to understand something about how packs of dogs function, and to communicate in ways they understand. Chatting to Meg is apparently wrong (I have always chatted to my dogs, I feel it’s important they know I’m going to the shop!) as this becomes ‘white noise’ so they get used to tuning me out. (Pretty sure husbands do this too.) All eye-contact and greetings and petting should convey the message that I am the alpha dog, and not Meg. So in the morning, she should return to her crate after toileting, and then I should ignore her until I am ready to ‘notice’ her and fuss her. Having alone-time is important, as it will encourage her to want to please me when she’s with me.

He commented that lots of people my age struggle with a new puppy, because it’s much harder to behave like a pack animal when there aren’t children in the house! When Kia was a puppy, 17 years ago, I had children who needed taking to school and clubs, and I was working part-time, my life was generally busier; so the puppy had to fit in. She didn’t have as much attention, she was used to me giving a command: ‘Everyone get in the car!’ and the whole pack obeyed—so being part of that was natural. I didn’t have to assert my authority, because when I shouted that it was dinner time, or we should leave, or it was time for school, the puppy watched the whole pack respond. However, Meg has become the centre of my world, I plan my day around her exercise and training, and she has responded accordingly. She has learnt some ‘tricks’ but does not expect to change her behaviour. This needs to stop. It’s not simply a matter of training her to walk on the lead, I need to be the boss.

He gave me some homework. When Meg behaves badly (biting the lead, jumping at me, pulling) I should simply stop, stand still, avoid eye-contact and ignore her. When she stops, and looks at me, I then resume what I am doing—she has to learn she is not important. If she’s being completely stupid, and won’t stop tugging at the lead or jumping, then I stop trying to train her, and put her back into the crate. I do not allow any behaviour I do not want, because repeating things makes them normal.

I have to stop putting her into situations where she will fail (like the park, or near traffic) and teach her to walk on the lead. When she can reliably walk on the lead properly, I then introduce different situations that I want her to ignore. So, when she can walk on the lead in the garden, we then walk on the lead in an empty car park. And then in a quiet road. And then in the park, and then the High Street, and so on.

I need to do the same with her recall (so when I shout ‘Come!’ she comes, immediately, and sits in front of me until I release her). I can work on her ability to wait, by gradually increasing the amount of time I leave her—from literally 2 seconds (so not even turning properly away) to being able to walk out of the room and come back 10 minutes later. Again, first somewhere boring, then when she has solidly learnt it, repeating the same behaviour somewhere more difficult. He made it look and sound very easy. We left feeling very positive, and full of hope. I am prepared to work at this, but I need to know I will eventually succeed, and for the first time I began to feel less depressed about the whole situation.

Hope all is going well in your world. Thanks for reading.
Take care.
Love, Anne x

anneethompson.com
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Meg’s Diary: 22 Weeks (5 months)

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I am beginning to despair of ever being able to walk Meg on the lead. The last couple of times I have tried, when a car has passed, she has fixed on it and then been completely deaf to any attempts to break her focus, ending in a full-body lurch towards the traffic, which hurts me and nearly gets us all killed. It is deeply disappointing. We have contacted a man who has trained police dogs and therefore must be familiar with working GSD. Am hoping he can help, otherwise I really don’t know what to do. I am in despair.

If I evaluate what we have achieved, the picture isn’t completely gloomy (it just feels like it is when you have nearly been dragged under a lorry). I will do a quick recap of what Meg has learnt since November:

Being calm—she will now sit and chew a toy next to me when I want to read. When I cook, she brings a toy and ‘dances’ with me, and then sits somewhere close, watching while I work.

Being alone—Meg is great with this, and is always willing to go into her crate. I try not to leave her for too long during the day, but in the evening she goes in about 6pm, and other than a couple of toilet trips, she is fine to be ignored until morning.

House-training—this has been excellent since the first day, and we have had very few accidents in the house.

Car travel—I have taken her out most days, and she hasn’t been sick for a while. She is very good about walking up the ramp into her crate, and settles down while we drive.

Biting—after a few weeks, Meg understood that biting us was wrong, and when she’s excited she will now collect a toy and chew that while playing with us. She never snaps her teeth at me now, and even when she has caught escapee ducks, she has been very gentle.

Animals—Meg still barks at the poultry, and the cats, and chases them if she can. But she has never appeared vicious towards them, and will happily stay in the same room as Milly, my cat. (When she jumps up to the work surface, Milly slaps her face!)

Walking on the lead—in the house and garden, if zero distractions, Meg understands that she should walk near me and not pull. She can do this for several minutes. The teeniest distraction, and she forgets I exist. She is stronger than me, and hurts me when she pulls, and potentially could pull me into traffic.

Looking at me—she is getting better at this. I have been feeding her in the park every day, and she will look at me while she is fed, though I can see she is feeling tense. She can cope with mobility scooters going past, and children, and shopping trolleys. Other dogs and traffic are a real challenge. She’s very friendly to passers-by, and wants to greet everyone, so I think she has a lovely nature.

Sitting/waiting—this is excellent. I can ask her to sit in the hall, and she will usually still be there a minute later (as long as there are no distractions).

Lying down—she can do this to command.

BUT, the not being able to walk her on the lead is a huge problem, especially as she needs more exercise. Last weekend we met friends for lunch. We drove for an hour, and Meg was fine in her crate in the boot (wasn’t sick). But when I exercised her on the village green I nearly had my arm pulled off, and there was no way we could have taken her into the pub because she would have barked at the other dogs. She was fine left in the car (we checked her regularly, and she just slept, wasn’t frightened) but I want a dog I can take places.

Soo, lots of progress. But mostly I feel like I am failing. I really hope this man can help, otherwise I don’t know where we go from here. Not sure I can cope with a dog I cannot walk.

Hope you find the help you need this week. Take care.
Love, Anne x

Meg in the Car

anneethompson.com
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Meg is fairly good with not going into certain rooms . . . but sometimes her ‘naughty ball’ rolls over the threshold by mistake!
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Meg’s Diary: 19 Weeks

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19 Weeks: The beginning of this week was very disappointing. I took Meg back to the place we practise lead-walking, and she completely lost it. She was lurching at everything that moved. She’s too strong for me now, and I could barely control her, which was dangerous for her and meant I hurt my back and shoulder. Such a shame.

Meg also pooped in the house, which she never does. I am allowing her more freedom, and so was in the dining room, where there is a rug on the floor. The kitchen and hallway only have tiles, so maybe she thought the rug was grass, and therefore okay to toilet. Who knows? I cleaned it thoroughly, and moved the rug upstairs, and will be more careful in the future when carpets are available.

Other than those (fairly major) setbacks, Meg has been lovely. She’s such a happy little thing, and loves to play. She wags with her whole body, and reminds me of our Labrador when she wiggles towards me, with her ears back and some huge toy in her mouth, ready for a game. She’s also very naughty, and uses the cat flap to throw things outside that she knows she’s not allowed (like slippers, the rubber feet of the cat bed, and leaves from my houseplants).

I don’t quite know what to do with walking her on the lead. She’s great in the garden, if there are no distractions, and knows to walk beside me, barely pulling. But the first sign of a person or animal, and she’s off. I guess we’ll just keep practicing and hope the world becomes less exciting. There’s a seat in the High Street, and I’ve starting taking her there each day, to feed her a meal. She’s fully aware of the traffic and people passing, but she’s hungry, so stays with me, looking at my face, while I hand-feed her the food. I’m hoping in time we will progress to be able to walk up the High Street. Maybe 2026?

The Duck Incident

We were walking in the garden—my favourite thing to do with Meg—she’s so happy, and skips about collecting sticks while staying close to me as I walk around the garden. One of the ducks had left the pond enclosure and was sitting on the lawn. Unfortunately, Meg noticed before me. She was off before I could stop her, and any stick-waving-shouting-commands was completely useless. Meg is completely deaf once she fixes on something, and my poor white duck was fully fixed-upon!

The duck tried to escape, running into a bush, but Meg ploughed through it, trapping the duck between both paws. The duck dived over a paw, tried to force itself through the fence, ran around the enclosure. Meg was really enjoying the game now, and raced after it. I gave up trying to bribe/command/entice Meg and instead went to open the gate to the pond, deciding to at least help the duck if I couldn’t control my dog.

Meg pounced, trapping the duck between her paws again, the duck squiggled out, and rushed towards the gate, squeezed underneath and made a dive for the pond with Meg seconds behind it. With a final flurry of feathers, the duck flew onto the pond, Meg rushed to the edge of the bank and stopped. She stared for a moment at the duck, considering whether the water was as wet as it looked (she doesn’t like wet). Then, a miracle! her hearing returned—she picked up her stick and carried it to me for praise.

I closed the gate to the pond, and decided to give Meg a treat. Afterall, despite several opportunities, she had never used her mouth on the duck, and although it was at serious risk of being bounced, there was nothing vicious in the game. In time, I hope to teach Meg to help me round up escapee poultry—Kia was a brilliant help when a duck escaped and directed it back to the pond. It was less exciting than this encounter, but the principle was the same.

Thanks for reading. Take care.
Love, Anne x

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Puppy Classes

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Puppy Classes

A friend invited me to puppy classes. It’s at a farm I didn’t know, so I shoved Meg in the car the day before, and we went for a reconnaissance. It’s lucky I did. The farm is up a dark lane, and is bisected by a dirt track used by lorries working at the quarry, which looms to one side in a very scary manner. We managed to not drive into the quarry, but also to not to find the farm, so I contacted my friend, and she agreed to meet me there.

At 7pm, we set off. Driving in the dark is not my favourite thing, so getting there was an adventure, especially as the roads were icy. But we made it. The next adventure was walking to the barn, through a stable of horses. Meg was great, and walked past them with interest, but no barking. Then we entered the barn, and all went to pot. There were other dogs, and Meg decided that snarling and barking was completely appropriate (because she is a German Shepherd dog, and that is what they do). The other dogs mostly ignored her, and the owners gave me sympathetic smiles. All the other dogs were older/better behaved/already perfectly trained in comparison. The barn had thick sand on the floor, and I assume is where the horses are trained.

The trainer met me, and expressed surprise that I had bought a working breed of gsd. I told her that most of the litter had gone to the police, and she asked why Meg had been sold as a pet. I wanted to explain that actually, she has improved loads since I have had her, and I have absolute belief that one day she will be great. But the last few weeks have been undeniably tough, so I said nothing. She told me that Meg would always want to work, always be completely hyper, and would be very difficult to control. I already know this. I also know that she is brave, and happy and incredibly friendly, and when she remembers that I exist, she is good company and lots of fun. The rest we will work on.

The trainer switched my dog lead for a sort of double one—clipped onto Meg’s collar and to her harness. She then directed me to walk round the barn, using the double lead like reins leading a horse. We made it round the barn a few times, though I’m not sure who was leading who. It was much easier to control Meg though, and I didn’t feel like my arm might be pulled off, which is how it usually feels.

We then all had to stand in a big circle, and tell our dogs to sit. Meg sat (I felt stupidly proud). The trainer showed me how to use a toy to play, stop, play, stop—keeping Meg occupied so she stopped concentrating on the other dogs. The other dogs all had to practice lying down when commanded, and then sitting still while their owned left them, walked round a cone, and returned. I wanted to tell the trainer that Meg can do this too—and in fact I can tell her to sit while I go upstairs with a load of washing, and she won’t move. But at the time, she was turning in circles like a wild thing and eating as much sand as she could get into her mouth, so I decided we would continue with the task we had been given.

By the end of the lesson, Meg was able to play with the toy while all the other dogs and owners walked past us. It was actually a strangely bonding activity. I felt like Meg and I were a team, working together while the rest of the class was one step ahead of us. (More than one step, probably!) As we left the barn, Meg decided to bark at the horses, and then at my friend’s dog, so it wasn’t a complete success. But it was an excellent first lesson, and hopefully we will improve. And eat less sand.

Thanks for reading. Take care.
Love, Anne x

Meg’s Diary — 18 weeks

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18 Weeks

Having a puppy is a lot like having a new baby. One similarity is that the whole world has an opinion about how you should be raising them. Complete strangers will give their views. Another similarity is that all the ‘expert’ advice tends to contradict. For example, I need to find a way to stop Meg fixating on passing cars and lurching at them when they pass. It’s dangerous. I looked online for help. One ‘expert teacher’ said that the prey-instinct is very strong in some dogs, therefore I should discourage all chasing. No chasing cats, sticks, balls, toys. Eventually, I will supress the instinct. Great. Sorted. Except, a different ‘expert’ told me that because I want to stop her chasing cars, I need to encourage the prey-instinct in other areas—so lots of games with balls, sticks, toys. (Though not cats; chasing cats is always wrong.)

I think it’s important to do what I did when I had babies: choose one or two people to trust, and follow their advice but ignore everyone else. I suspect different things work for different dogs, but the advice-givers are so certain they are correct. It undermines my confidence (just like when I had a new baby).

I therefore decided to trust myself (which is important, because I have raised/trained two wonderful dogs previously, plus taught a myriad of naughty boys with ADHD, which is not so very different). I also messaged the woman who is raising Meg’s sister as a pet, and listened to her advice, plus a couple of trusted people. I have also enrolled in ‘puppy classes’ but this is mainly to socialise Meg, because I know from past experience that dog trainers also offer varying advice.

One thing I started to try this week, was regular walking near a busy road where Meg can be slightly removed from the traffic. In our country lane, every passing car comes very close to pedestrians, which must seem like a taunt to a shepherding dog. My plan is for her to get so used to traffic at a distance, that she will gradually cope as they become nearer. I also stopped trying to bribe her good behaviour with food, because it doesn’t work, and the woman raising her sister said a tug-toy works really well as a training bribe. Off we set.

I parked at a little station car park (near enough that Meg didn’t vomit in the car—another issue I need to solve). We set off, walking round the residential streets, near a main road but not on it. Meg was great, glancing at cars on the main road, but not trying to chase them. We gradually went nearer. Eventually, we were walking on the path beside the road. Meg was great, for about 2 minutes, then decided the cars were too much, and started to lurch towards them. We went back home.

The following day, we repeated the exercise, and Meg was much better. She walked holding a tug-toy (which is my toy, she is never allowed to play with it by herself—a tip from my father-in-law). She held the toy the entire way, making sure I couldn’t take it from her—which is still bad behaviour, but much less bad than chasing cars, and I am all for compromise. We walked about 400 metres , turned round, walked back to the station. A train of school kids had arrived, so the walk back involved walking past school bags, and lots of legs, and even boys bouncing a football. Meg was great (if you don’t include the fact that she thought she had stolen my toy and was concentrating on not giving it back!) This will now be a daily activity, and gradually, as the traffic stops being an issue, I will be more fussy about who carries the toy.

As Meg has grown, she has become too heavy for me to keep lifting in and out of the car, but big dogs need protecting when they are young, as too much stress on their joints can result in arthritis when they are old. I therefore bought a ramp. It arrived, and I attached it to the boot, and directed Meg to walk up it. She looked at me like I was stupid, and sat down. I tried tempting her with food, so she barked at me. Carried the ramp into the house and leant it against a stair, so the incline was very shallow. Meg walked up it, ate the treat, walked down it. I made it steeper, and she walked up it. I repeated the exercise, until it was the same incline as the car boot. Then I took it outside, and attached it to the car. Meg looked at me as if I thought she was daft, and sat down. But then, gradually, I persuaded her up the ramp, gave her a treat, down the ramp. We did this a few times until she was walking up and down confidently. I love this about Meg—if I find the right way to teach her, she is incredibly quick to learn.

Hope you stay safe on the roads this week. Thanks for reading.
Take care.
Love, Anne x

anneethompson.com
*****

*****

Meg’s Diary–weeks 16 & 17

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16 Weeks

We took Meg to Camber Sands. She was sick in the car (she is always sick in the car). It was really windy, and walking to the beach involved lots of sand being blown into eyes, which she wasn’t keen on. When we finally made it to the beach, she just stopped—all four paws firmly planted—and stared at everything.

We started to walk, and she was very good—interested in everything but not frightened, even when other dogs approached her wanting to play. We kept her on the lead, because if she decided to run off we would never catch her, and I don’t trust her with other animals.

She hates having wet feet, and tried to go backwards when we walked on the wet sand! Totally unimpressed by the sea, much too wet.

We only walked for about 30 minutes (I am still protecting her joints) but she was exhausted afterwards. It’s the first time I have seen her properly tired. She slept all the way home.

We also left her for a night. My daughter and son-in-law kindly agreed to have her, so we took Meg and her playpen, toys and food to Coulsdon. She was completely unfussed by being left. Daughter said she was mostly very good, though she did check with Daughter whenever son-in-law told her something, to see whether she needed to obey or not! They found a water-squirter was a good deterrent for going on the sofa, so I will copy that.

The worst thing about Meg is her insistence on chasing cars. It’s very dangerous as she gets stronger, because she fixates on them, and then lurches with all her strength. She is also terrible on the lead, and pulls very hard. It’s a lot like being behind a dog-sleigh, but without the sleigh. Daughter said they tried all sorts of treats, but nothing really distracted her from the cars, even though they were further away than when she encounters them in the lane. It’s a problem we need to fix.


17 Weeks

Meg is mostly very good now, though her energy exhausts me. She has also become very disobedient about coming when called, but as she’s bigger, I don’t worry about leaving her in the garden for a little while, so I just shut her out (which she hates, and tries to squeeze through the cat flap!)

I bought a ‘halti’ lead. It has a nose muzzle-thing, and the lead attaches to this, so if she pulls it turns her head. We practiced wearing it for short periods in the house, and then used it to walk on the field. Meg hates it, and tries to remove it, but it stops her pulling and lurching at cars. I am hoping it will break the cycle of strong pulling, so we can stop using it after a while. I am also taking her into the garden regularly, with treats and no distractions, to practice walking to heel. She is good until she loses concentration (about 4 minutes). After that, it’s not worth trying.

Not keen
Learning to cope

She has got very tall and thin. I am increasing her food, and adding meat to the kibble. I assume it’s just a lanky growing phase. She moved out of her little crate for sleeping this week, as we decided it’s now too small. She mainly seems to sleep on her back, with all four legs stretched out. She snores like a trooper! Not very elegant (nor is it very scary-police-dog!) She still sleeps on folded towels. At some point I will buy her a bed, but she would eat it currently. I also cannot leave her with a bowl of water, because after drinking she flings it round the room. I have to give her drinks, and then remove the bowl. She managed to get her lead, which was a mistake…

Not so useful.

The breeder puts regular videos on Facebook of her training her own puppies. I try to copy some of the exercises with Meg. She’s good unless there’s a distraction. What I really need to find is a competition for grabbing a sock out of the tumble-dryer and racing up the garden with it—we would win that for certain! I do feel that she’s trying to fit in though. When we load the dishwasher, she collects her chew and dumps it in, like she’s trying to help, which is very sweet. She’s also a happy little thing, and loves to join in when I dance to the radio, running circles round me with her toy. She’s very friendly when we meet people, and greets all the gardeners (at face-height) with wagging tail and licks—which is not exactly ‘calm’ but at least she’s confident and friendly. Hopefully this will last—but in a calmer manner.

Hope you are making progress with your latest project. I must say, writing my dissertation is MUCH easier than puppy training.
Thanks for reading.
Take care.
Love, Anne x

Learning to cope with a new puppy takes many forms…

Meg’s Diary, 12–15 weeks

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12 Weeks

Still have a muddle of feelings about Meg—mainly that she has made life so much more complicated, and she doesn’t even seem to like me! Occasionally she will crawl onto my lap when I’m sitting on the floor, or follow me when I am cooking, chewing her toys and watching me, and I feel genuine affection. But mostly, as she knocks something over, or destroys a seat cushion, or bites my clothes, I feel cross. I cannot trust her in the kitchen alone, so I either have to be in there, guarding everything, or she has to be in her large pen with her toys—which she is beginning to resent.

She is still terrible with the other animals, and chases them if she can (so she is mostly on the lead when they are out). The cats are getting used to her, and Milly will even follow us at a distance, because she knows she can outrun Meg.

She is super-fast at learning things (if I have the mental energy to teach her). For a treat she likes (mince) she will sit, wait, shake hands, fetch a ball and put it into my hand. She’s not too sure about walks, and tries to stop us leaving the driveway (she uses all four paws as a brake, and I end up dragging her). She usually looks quite happy when we get to the field, and walks relatively well, then tries to drag me all the way home. She absolutely hates being hosed afterwards (but she’s covered in mud, so it’s the only option).

I have been out a couple of evenings, and a friend has come and let her out. Meg has been fine with this—which is one good thing about a confident puppy. I think going into kennels wouldn’t phase her at all. Nothing seems to.

13 Weeks

Walking on the lead is still a nightmare, and hurts my shoulder. When there are two of us, the ‘pack-instinct’ kicks in, and she will walk with us, trying to keep up with the ‘leader’. But on her own it’s just hard work. She stops, leaps, grabs the lead or pulls as hard as she can. By the time we have walked a short loop, I am exhausted (and not particularly kind when I hose the mud off her, which she hates, but I am so angry by that time that I take a sadistic pleasure in giving her a thorough wash).

Cutting her nails is also not going well. All the books suggest playing with her feet, regularly touching her paws/nails and giving treats until it becomes ‘normal.’ This has never worked. Meg will offer me her paw when asked (in return for food) but she snatches it away in an instance. Trying to ‘play’ with her paws results in biting. I have therefore been quickly clipping a single nail after sneaking up on her when she’s sleeping, and then trying to remove clippers/fingers from her mouth. It has not felt like victory. Therefore this week, we resorted to the two-man method. Husband pinned her down, and while she was immobile, I trimmed her nails. She started to make all sorts of fuss, so we started to sing, very loudly, the rousing hymn: ‘And can it be, that I should gain…’ This always worked with screaming babies, they were shocked into silence. Seems it also works with angry puppies! The bad quality of our singing, plus the volume, made her completely freeze. I need to share this tip with the people who write the dog obedience books—nothing else seems to work.

14 Weeks

Jay came home this week, and said Meg is lots calmer than when he last saw her. This gives me hope. Though I seriously consider rehoming her almost every day. She is still too much for me.

I have taken her into town a couple of times. I park in Waitrose, and we walk from the car to the front of the shop, then to the chip shop in the High Street, and back to the car. It takes about 30 minutes. Most puppies would be scared of the cars, the sliding doors of the shop, the trolleys, the number of people. Not Meg. She tries to attack everything, bouncing with all four feet. She is delighted if someone greets her, and lurches madly, trying to chase the cars, and the people, and the trolleys. I tried taking various treats, and bribing her to concentrate on me. No chance. She is completely distracted and just wants to chase everything. I will keep trying. Maybe it will become boring eventually, and she will listen to me.

The only thing I have ever known her to be wary of is a lorry, which stopped to ask directions. As the massive wheels stopped next to us, she moved back, and when it left, she didn’t try to chase it. But that’s it—giant lorries but nothing else. She would have been a brilliant army dog.

15 Weeks

Meg has been great this week, and I now feel thoroughly bonded (no more thoughts of rehoming). It has been a difficult road, but we have learnt each other sufficiently that life has settled into a mutual understanding. The puppy understands that evenings here are boring. Absolutely nothing happens after 6pm, so there’s no point in trying to make things exciting, may as well settle into crate for the evening with a chew to gnaw. In return, I try to exercise her brain and body several times during the day.

She is getting better with the animals—and I no longer try to clean them out while she is with me (way too stressful). Each morning, Milly (the cat) comes in, jumps onto the work surface, and I feed her and Meg something tasty (a tin of tuna if I don’t have anything better). Meg has learnt that if she jumps up, the cat slaps her face. She has also learnt—because they are fed together, and the cat always comes first—that the cat belongs here, and therefore whilst bouncing perhaps cannot be helped, biting is clearly wrong. In return, the cat sometimes follows us round the garden, and although she has been bounced a few times, she stays near enough to be part of life. A good start.

The cockerel has also asserted himself, and not been killed, and both are now relatively wary of each other, but neither show aggression—which is as much as I can hope for at this stage. We are getting there.

Over Christmas, Meg had lots of interaction with the family. She’s very friendly, and loves everyone, but also showed some obedience when people were firm with her. Whilst her behaviour is still ‘naughty’ she does now obey commands, and we are able to tell her things rather than physically force her off chairs, into her crate, etc. As I feed her in the crate, and all her toys are in there, she sees it as a nice place to be rather than a punishment, which is good.

Meg was at her best on the 28th December. We had the whole extended family here for games and supper. Meg stayed in her big crate, which is in the kitchen, right next to where highly competitive family members were pretty much shouting at each other and squealing and generally being very noisy. Meg was completely comfortable, watching with interest, and showing no nerves at all. I felt very pleased with her.

We have just returned from a walk with Bridie (older dog in the family). After an initial silly barking fit and showing of teeth, Meg realised that Bridie was completely unimpressed, and then walked next to her, round the park, meeting a few other dogs on the way. Whilst she pulled on the lead the whole time, she did very well with other dogs, and was much better with passing cars, and definitely seemed to be watching Bridie and learning from her. Another success.

Hope you have some success too this week. Thanks for reading.
Take care.
Love, Anne x

Meg’s Diary– 8 Weeks

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The first week with Meg was exhausting—mainly because I needed to learn her, and I daren’t trust her for a moment alone. I also really hate poop in the house, so I was constantly watching to see if she needed to toilet. She was actually really good at this, and very quickly learnt what ‘Be quick!’ meant, so pretty much can pee on-demand in return for a treat. We managed to have only 2 accidents, and those were within a few hours of arriving home. It’s surprising how two adults can be so focussed on a small puppy’s bladder.

Sleep has got better. She goes out at midnight, and then sleeps until 6 am. We will gradually increase this, as her bladder gets stronger. She now is used to her crate, and knows she must sleep when put in it.

I found really helpful lessons online: Absolute Dogs, on Youtube. They teach all the things that the breeder also recommended, and it’s really helpful (especially for a clever breed). So I hand-feed Meg her food (which creates a bond—because I really need her to pay attention to me, or we will be doomed!) I also keep part of her meal in my pocket, for regular treats to reward good behaviour. This week we have concentrated on a few lessons.

Meeting Grandma. When I go out, I take Meg with me. Mostly she is good.

Most importantly, Meg comes when I call. I love to watch her short legs leaping across the garden! She also knows to sit, and that she will not receive her treat unless sitting. The main lessons (which will take a while) are that not everything is her business, and being calm is good. The first of these is super-important for a gsd. Although she’s gorgeous now, and everyone wants to touch her, in a few months she will be a big scary dog. She needs to learn now that bounding up to people is not the right behaviour, instead she should ignore everyone, and focus only on me (and the treat in my pocket!) This applies to people, children, and animals—she has to learn to ignore them. The cat, Millie, who comes in the house regularly, is helping with the training, and Meg is learning that interfering with a cat is a bad idea. We are still working on not chasing the poultry (and the cockerel has to learn not to fight the puppy—but that’s harder to teach).

Being calm is also difficult, but she’s getting better. I bought some toys to chew, and she does, on occasion, lie at my feet and peacefully play. However, she views Husband as a hugely exciting game, and whenever she sees him all ‘calm’ disappears and she becomes an uncontrollable force. Unfortunately, there are no online lessons for teaching husbands to be calm. Though he assures me that he is trying.

It was my daughter’s wedding blessing this week, and Meg was introduced to being in a crowd—while ignoring everyone. I walked into the room, carrying Meg and feeding her treats while talking softly, trying to ensure she concentrated on me, and not everyone else. Apart from her tail (lots of mad wagging) she did very well at ignoring the crowd.

The main game she enjoys is collecting all her toys into a heap. So I throw a toy, she runs to get it, then takes it to the doormat. I repeat with the next toy. I guess it’s the puppy equivalent of herding sheep. She does the same with sticks, and the back step is now covered in sticks.

I feel this week has been about learning each other, and settling into a routine. She seems very clever, and very strong-willed, and I am hoping to be the boss before the teenaged-rebellion starts. There’s a long way to go, but we are making progress. And she is completely beautiful, which helps. Hope you have a good week. Take care, and thanks for reading.
Love, Anne x

Travelling is not her favourite thing. But she has stopped being car-sick, so that’s good.

I will let you know how Meg develops. I am writing this postscript a few weeks later, and you will see from the photo below, that this dog is possibly too clever for me! This is what happened at 12 weeks, when I told her to ‘sit!’ (She’s not allowed on the furniture.)

A New Puppy

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Meg’s Diary: First Day

We drove to near Northampton to collect Meg. You might remember from an earlier blog, that I was looking for a German Shepherd puppy, and learnt that working gsd are a very different strain. They are shorter, stockier, and generally have less health problems and nervous issues—so they are less likely to react badly due to fear. They also tend to have more energy/focus, which I worried might be a problem (as I don’t have sheep to be herded, only a few poultry) but we requested one, and I started reading. ‘Being calm’ was going to be an important lesson.

When we arrived, all the puppies were outside, in a pen. All my worries disappeared and I realised that I really really wanted a puppy—or maybe several! They were gorgeous, full of life as they chased each other and played with an empty milk carton and tried to leap the fence to say hello. Nearly all of their ears were up (a show strain gsd has floppy ears until they are several months old) and they had stocky little legs and nice straight backs and you could tell they were going to be strong dogs.

I asked to see their mother—because that seemed sensible. She was still lovely, though looked more tired than when I had seen her previously!

The breeder recommended Meg, as I had asked for a darker sable, and she knew I didn’t want a pup who was ‘very driven.’ Not that any of them looked particularly calm.

We paid and put her in the car. (£2,000 in case you are interested—a big increase from the £450 we paid for Kia when she was a puppy—but comparable to other reputable breeders. You have to divide that between 16 years, and then it’s worth the price.) The price covered her first vaccine and worm-course, a chip to identify her, and half a bag of dog food. I thanked the breeder (because she had sold me the best thing ever) and we left.

Meg started to cry as soon as we left. I really wanted her on my lap, but I wasn’t sure of the law/view of breeder (and gsd breeders are very fussy, and will refuse to release their puppies unless they are certain the new owner will be sensible). However, I also felt that the two-hour trip would be a good bonding time. So we stopped (like naughty children, as soon as we were out of sight!) and I transferred the puppy onto my lap.

She was easy to control, and I had piles of towels to hand in case of accidents, and I hoped she would just sleep. She didn’t. But she was settled, and she snuggled into me and watched Husband drive. A couple of times she was sick, but I am pretty nifty with bags after years of baby-vomit, so it was fine. By the time we arrived home, we knew each other.

I took Meg into the kitchen and put her on the floor. She ran round, knocked over a plant, tried to eat the plant, tried to eat me when I started to clear up. She has super-sharp claws and very pointy teeth. A friend had kindly leant me a puppy-pen. The first time we put Meg in it, she leapt at the sides, managed to get half-way up, and tried to leap the rest of the way. I worried she might either fall backwards, or climb over—either way she would be hurt. Husband managed to find a super-large crate at Argos, meant for a Wiemaraner but perfect for an energetic gsd puppy.

The first night, we did as the breeder had suggested. When we went to bed, we put Meg into a small crate, turned off the lights, left her. She cried, barked, sounded like she was being murdered, and then fell asleep. I slept within earshot. When she woke (2am) I went to her, didn’t turn on the lights or speak, took her in the garden to pee, returned her to the crate. She made a fuss, but fell asleep after about 10 minutes. When she woke again (4:30) I repeated. I got up at 5.30, and we started the day (I am usually up at 6ish, so that was fine). Whenever Meg toileted outside, she was praised and given a treat. She’s really clever, and we only had two accidents in the house. She cannot be left alone for a moment (unless she’s in her playpen-crate, which I don’t want to use too often). She seems very happy. I am exhausted.

Thanks for reading.

Take care.
Love, Anne x

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