New Comer

New happenings while I took a long blog brake is we have a new comer :) Brought this pretty German shepherd mix home to foster and would like to keep her. We shall see if it is meant to be. One problem we have had to deal with is that she has learned to jump the fence. So we are working on different ways to keep her from doing that. Another thing is she does jump up on you so working on stopping her from doing that. I have taught her to sit and lay down. We are going to need to work on the stay. Another thing I want to teach her right now is to walk beside me when we go for walks.

So training goals the rest of this month are : Stay, Heel, and down.

Frosty had a long brake from training and it is time to get back to it. This months goal is to "bring it". Things she already knows is sit, stay, lay down, roll over and most important he reminds me to check his buds blood sugar. Have a great day and thanks for stopping by Simply Superb Dogs :)

Are You There

We are still here :) It has been a while since I posted! Things are going good with our Frosty. Things we were working on he has now gotten better and Frosty continues to stick by my little guys side.

One of the issues Frosty had before is that he would guard my little guys food. Would make sure everyone would "leave it" (even empty plates at times) but would jump at the chance to NOT "leave it" himself like if my little guy would walk away from his food. Now he does so much better in that area. I often can walk up to my son when he has his plate and Frosty doesn't act all possessive of his food or plate. He still has his days but not nearly as much.

Frosty continues to be a superb dog as he sticks by my now 7 year old son who has T1 diabetes. Where ever my son is he is usually close by. In fact when my son is not there, Frosty will whine for him. This past summer we went on a vacation without Frosty. Frosty stayed home with my husband. He whined and whined for my little guy. He missed his bud.

Here is a picture of Frosty looking for his best bud. I had come home without my little guy which was unusual. He was visiting some friends. Frosty just kept looking and waiting for his bud to come through the door. Frosty was disappointed. LOL

Hope you enjoyed my update and hope to share many more posts as I get back to sharing and training. Thanks for stopping by Simply Superb Dog :)

An Alert Ignored?!

So yesterday Frosty alerted me to check my little mans BG. His blood glucose was high. So gave my little man an insulin correction. Great job Frosty for getting my attention!! Then a little bit later Frosty started trying to get my attention again. He didn't want to go out. I am like I know I know his his BG is high. Since he was given insulin his high was being taken care of. So I didn't check BG again and was like good dog, good dog I know his BG is high. He continued to try and get my attention. I just ignored him. Finally he stopped trying to get my attention. A couple minutes later my little man said I don't feel very well. I checked my little mans BG and it was 51... he was low!! If I had of checked when Frosty was alerting instead of assuming it was the high BG from before I would have 'caught before his BG got to 51. Next time will check his BG and NOT ignore. This even made Frosty give up on getting my attention which I don't want when it comes to alerts to my little mans BG's. Thanks for stopping by Simply Superb Dog :)

Good Calm

Okay so one of Frosty's not so good behavior is he tends to guard my little guys food. If he has food Frosty will hardly let you get near him. Though I am happy to say I am seeing so many improvements. I have gotten close to my little man a few times while he was eating today and Frosty stayed calm. So many "good calm" said to Frosty and treats given for such good behavior. Next I will work with him when the little guy is eating something really meaty and flavorful and have a high value treat ready for Frosty's "good calm" Remember if you have issues with your dog there is more than likely a way to change the behavior with positive reinforcement and redirecting your dogs behavior that is good for everyone involved. For me I am remembering Triple P. Positive reinforcement, patients, and perseverance. I am finding these three things are the key. :)

What I Learned Today During Frosty's Training Session

The kind of treats and hand gestures do make a difference. This morning I was trying to get Frosty to "lay down" and he just wouldn't do it. I got him to do it once before a few days ago but couldn't seem to get him to do it this morning. I remember hearing from various trainers to change up the treats. Also to use some favorites for harder tricks. I guess this one was a harder trick for Frosty or he just didn't care to do that one. Anyway I bought some other treats. Then started working with Frosty again. He still didn't seem to get it but did seem much more eager. Then I held my hand different than previous times. Kind like how you hold your hand for the game, rock paper scissors. I brought my hand down and said "lay down" and he did it, he did it. LOL I now know what his sign for lay down is. We did that over and over again and even did some "roll overs". I also learned to spread out the training session or else they will be like what ever. With full bellies of treats they just aren't going to work so hard and will lose interest. Well that is all for today. Frosty had a busy day of alerting and training. Time for bed :)

An Accomplishment

Frosty and our Little Bear tolerating each other...this is AMAZING! :)

These guys did NOT get along. Often had to separate the two. They are now able to be around each other more and more.

Some Of The Things We Are Working On

Sit

Lay Down

Roll Over

Good Dog :)