[nagdu] Indoor Behavior - So Confused

Ashley Coleman amc05111 at gmail.com
Mon Sep 10 14:45:01 UTC 2012


Ava, First of all, you are the owner/trainer; your family is not.  You
know what's best for her.  If that means keeping her on leash/tiedown
for the time being that's what I'd suggest you do untill she relearns
the rules.  Also, you may want to do some obedience through out the
day, and work on not taking food from other people as you did when you
first started training her.  I've noticed that family can be over
critical of the dog and the handeler, and I would suggest that you
take the things that they say like a grain of salt, and take from it
the things that matter.

These are just a few thoughts.  Please let us know how things go.
Ashley

On 9/10/12, Pickrell, Rebecca M (TASC) <REBECCA.PICKRELL at tasc.com> wrote:
> Ava,
> A few thoughts.
> First, is this behavior new for Coco? If yes, then there could be a couple
> reasons. First, she's getting older and this may be an early decline. Not
> much you can really do except be aware of it, cry and begin looking for
> another dog.
> Realize that your family is under a lot of stress with your dad's surgery.
> Your mom probably isn't thinking clearly now.
> I could forgive the chips especially if they were on the floor, but stealing
> stuff off dressers would drive me bats**t crazy. I could. not. deal. with
> this issue.
> I'm wondering if you've got the perfect storm of your dad's surgery, your
> mom's stress, and some bad behavior that you've excused?
>
> Or, this behavior is new for Coco and you're dealing with an elderly dog,
> dad's surgery, mom's stress and your folks realizing that the dog that has
> helped their daughter will no longer be able to do that.
>
> My parents held both my dogs in very high esteem which doesn't mean to
> suggest it was all roses and sunshine.  They probably view Coco as helping
> you when they can't and rightly or wrongly, they view you as more fragile
> then an adult that doesn't have a disability.  I think that's just part of
> being parents.
>
> I'd figure out which set of issues you're dealing with. I'm not clear based
> on this post.
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf
> Of avapup.7 at gmail.com
> Sent: Sunday, September 09, 2012 4:32 AM
> To: nagdu at nfbnet.org
> Subject: [nagdu] Indoor Behavior - So Confused
>
> Hi,
>
> This is Ava with Cocoa, my 8 year old owner-trained guide dog. Cocoa's work
> outside the house is beautiful, and she absolutely has the best time
> working.
>
> But a new problem has come up, one that I haven't dealt with since she was
> about a year old, and I just don't know what to do.
>
> Cocoa has seemingly forgotten most of her indoor manners!
>
> Tonight was more or less the last straw with my parents ( I live with them
> ). Cocoa found a bag of opened chips on the ground, where my visiting
> sister's boyfriend has set them, and just shoved her giant Lab head into the
> bag and began eating. Needless to say, no one was pleased and I was blamed.
> And blamed. And blamed.
>
> Cocoa also barks outside, no more than other dogs, but my mother says she
> can't be doing that anymore. She said I must get one of those anti-bark
> citronella collars.
>
> Cocoa gets very excited, and will jump in circles at the prospect of being
> fed or going on a walk, sometimes making the rug over our wooden floor
> crooked she bounces so hard. She will steal things off dressers and
> shelves.
>
> She also begs for food, I've never allowed it but my father has always
> allowed it, to the point where he will toss leftover food down to her.
> Luckily I have kept her weight at an ideal 68-70 lbs. She doesn't beg from
> me, but does from the rest of my family -- and I get blamed.
>
> My father had surgery a month ago and Cocoa was so anxious -- he is not a
> good patient -- my mother has me call the vet and had Cocoa put on Xanax for
> two weeks. It did help, as I think she was picking up on the general high
> level of anxiety and tension in the house.
>
> Cocoa is also whining a LOT ever since my father's surgery. My mother at one
> point wanted me to put a muzzle on her to make her be quiet. I absolutely
> refused. As long as Cocoa is with me, she is generally quiet. But she's
> picked up the habit of whining incessantly in the car as well.
>
> The thing is, I'm being accused of being a bad dog handler by my entire
> family. They wont listen when I explain how she behaves around me versus how
> she behaves around them. No, my mother is convinced SHE is the only one
> doing a good job with making Cocoa behave, and that I'm never consistent
> with Cocoa.
>
> I'm very confused. I don't know what to do to please my family. I offered to
> keep Cocoa with me on leash/tie down/gated wherever I am. I offered to keep
> Cocoa on leash with me 24 hours a day for a week or so, as this worked with
> one of our prior pet dogs who was quite hyper in the house. They haven't
> told me what they think of either idea yet.
>
> I don't think it's so unusual for a pet dog to see an opened bag of chips on
> the floor and stick her head into it. But, Cocoa would never ever do that
> outside the house. She is well trained not to take food while working. And
> no, it's not good she did it last night at home, but I wasn't even there
> when it happened. Yet I became a big ordeal, and I again was blamed.
>
> Can anyone please, please offer me some advice on how to get Cocoa back to
> observing the indoor ground rules which were set for her as an adolescent?
>
> Is there anything I might be able to tell my parents to reassure them I am
> taking care of this issue? I doubt they'd ever threaten to force me to find
> a new home for Cocoa -- she is my guide and my girl, after all -- but they
> are angry at me, frustrated with her, and I just want my hyper Lab to behave
> as well at home as she does while working.
>
> Please, can anyone help? This is awful, having my mother believing I am a
> bad guide dog or just plain dog handler/owner. I am in my early 30's by the
> way, having had to move back home years ago because of money.
>
> Thank you for anything, any ideas you might have.
>
> Sincerely,
> Ava and Cocoa
>
>
>
> Sent from my iPhone
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