tuckerposting

[tuckerposting]

I’ve been really struggling with Tucker and agility recently and at this point I honestly don’t know what to do.

He’s really inconsistent at agility class, to the point where I don’t know what dog is going to show up at class with me any given week. Sometimes he’s sharp, focused, having fun and eager to work. Other times he’s clearly stressed out, can’t handle sitting on the sidelines while other dogs run, quickly disengages from me and zooms around the ring when it’s our turn.

I know that he finds the class environment at least somewhat stressful. What I struggle with is sometimes he’s barely bothered and other days he’s over his threshold from the beginning. I’m trying to find whatever routine minimizes that stress, but it’s difficult as he also struggles with separation AND has low tolerance for boredom AND doesn’t like crates (yes I have devoted training time to all of these concerns, no they are not solved) so I have a lot of factors to account for and very limited options at my disposal.

I’m considering consulting a trainer or vet behaviorist, but this feels so minor compared to the stuff that they usually see, and I struggle to justify the cost. He’s just such a normal dog for the most part? I’ve considered medication too, but I’m not confident it would help. I don’t know what to do next but if anyone has thoughts or resources that might be helpful, I’d appreciate it.

I would be really disappointed to have to pull back from agility because when we can work through Tucker’s stress at the environment (which is often!! but not always, and increasingly more difficult) he really enjoys playing the game, and I love working with him 🖤

[tuckerposting]

Flower Trio

[tuckerposting]

YES Tucker is loud and stubborn and not overly interested in affection or approval from humans

YES Ash is small and sweet and loving and criminally cute

NO you are not allowed to like Ash better than Tucker despite his objectively more pleasant demeanor

Thanks for coming to my Ted talk.

[tuckerposting]

By god she’s done it again. Fucking superb you funky little fruits

Running two dogs named Banana and Lemon??? and they both win???? Are you kidding me this is incredible

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Running two dogs named Banana and Lemon??? and they both win???? Are you kidding me this is incredible

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guess what day it is……..

It’s……..

ASH WEDNESDAY!!!!!!

Sponsored by Ash ™️

[tuckerposting]

one time I watched an asmr video with my parents’ dog and it made her throw up. thankfully tucker and ash are of stronger constitution and temperament than sweet little daisy so they can tolerate my fiendish asmr habit because god knows!!!! my brain is not manufacturing any of its own calm right now

[tuckerposting]

tomorrow im really gonna give it my nothing

[tuckerposting]

i find that a lot (a lot) of adolescent dogs (6-24 months) are missing one or more of my 5(+1) activities. if we make just a teensy effort to provide them more regularly, suddenly adolescence gets so much easier.

physical activity. theeee most likely to actually be present. this is literally just burning calories. treadmill/slatmill, leash walks, etc.

mental activity. training (5 targeted minutes of which will help many other problems), food puzzles, adding 'rules' to your life so the dog is thinking more often, etc.

MOVE your BODY. this one i stumbled into raising a puppy without a fenced yard. she NEEDS some off leash, unrestrained activity multiple times a week or she turns into a monster. this is not just physical activity--this is full body movement, ideally in nature, often At Speed. this can also be ace freework, body conditioning/fitness work, etc, things which get the dog in tune with her body.

novelty. this CAN be going new places and giving him new toys, but it can also just be rotating the walk routes so he periodically gets to go down a road he hasn't seen in a week. but also give him new toys, he deserves them.

destruction. this is another one that is reliably shortchanged. chewing (HARD, on things that TASTE GOOD), shredding, dissecting, etc. boxes of cardboard to shred, toys gotten for the purpose of killing them, regular provision of new chews, etc etc etc. even just a paper bag with a ball shoved in it, or putting breakfast in an empty cereal box.

these don't need to be every single day, but they do need to be part of the routine. so for example, K'seil:

gets a 40 min leash walk daily plus MOVE your BODY 2-3 times a week.

gets 5 minutes of training and dinner in a slow feeder daily. weekly has at least one class, twice a week now comes to work with me and is a demo dog.

BARE MINIMUM of one good off leash woods run once a week. it is noticeable when that's missed. usually 1-2 other off leash runs (at work) a week, plus tug and some full body play inside.

this dog gets so much novelty.

some mornings her breakfast comes in a cereal box; a frozen kong daily; new chews every other week; a cardboard box with packing paper in it that she pulls out to shred; when she's particularly nuts we have a holee-roller stuffed with fleece strips and a tennis ball.

if i told you her primary exercise was a 40 min leash walk, and that she was normal otherwise, you'd think i'm insane. which is fair. because i meet all her other needs, and so she really does just need a 40 min leash walk in the mornings.

secret bonus +1: relaxation. if the dog cannot stop moving when she's tired, that's the most important thing to learn. at some life stages, it's normal to have non-optional naps or otherwise need to coax the dog into actually sleeping. this stops being normal after about 3 yrs (depending on breed), and it's a high priority of mine to teach to any puppy.

your dog should not be Go Go Go 24/7, they should be napping and resting throughout the day. K'seil slept solid today from 10:30 am to 4 pm and we didn't do anything particularly cool this morning.

so there you go, today's life hack for incessantly needy dogs

[tuckerposting]

Tucker and I took our first agility foundations class over a year and a half ago. After moving states, starting classes with a new club, and multiple breaks from agility due to issues in my life, we graduated from agility foundations last week.

We started our first novice agility class tonight. Everyone else in the class has already been training at the novice level for a while, they’re all a lot more experienced than me, and they all ran the courses beautifully. Tucker was distracted and chaotic in the new environment, I was nervous and my handling was terrible. It was amazing. He nailed the weaves (on his third try)! He had some really nice stopped contacts! I had some good crosses (I think, and some really bad ones)! People commented on how happy he looked and how much fun he was having.

Me and my 6 year old dog are finally doing what I’ve been so excited for. I don’t know how much time we have, if we will ever compete, but that’s not really the point. We might always look like the biggest clowns in our class (someone has to of course, but it’s our first day so nowhere to go but up). I don’t care i don’t care I don’t care I love my dog so much I love that we have this activity that brings us both so much joy. Ever since I started I’ve been waiting to run next to my dog and we’ve worked so hard and I finally get to !!!!!!

[tuckerposting]

We're off on an adventure!

[tuckerposting]

well what if i want to bite the hand that feeds me but fondly. gently. what then

[tuckerposting]

ash is really one of those guys who can be your angle or yuor devil

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[tuckerposting]

i'm obsessed w/ this guy what is going ON in the eyeball region

[tuckerposting]

Welcome home to leetol baby Ash ❤️

[tuckerposting]

teef