Fiona Mae  - Training Photos, Videos and Updates

Pawsitive Notes - Tracking Fiona Mae's Milestones

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  • ​5/1 - Fiona Mae is nervous, as is natural, but she got out with Mark and Jen in the run for awhile for some bonding time today. She is definitely more scared of Mark, but did touch her nose, voluntarily, to his hands a few times. She much more comfortable with Jen and even climbed in her lap a couple of times, licked her face and nibbled her ear. 
  • 5/4 - Fiona is settling in now and is happy to be out with Mark and Jen in the run. She's even starting to engage in a bit of play with them! She also spent some time in the run with Mark's dog, Drogo, today. They didn't interact much, but in their limited interactions, were very appropriate with one another.
  • 5/5 - Fiona had an excellent walk today. She was a little nervous at first with the traffic of the busy street, but did well putting her trust in her trainer. She passed other people, dogs and bicycles, from a distance, without any issues.
  • 5/8 - Fiona is out in the larger pack now and is doing superbly in her interactions with the other dogs.
  • 5/9 - Fiona is doing well and has settled in quite well. She's not near as nervous any longer and we absolutely adore her. She's a fantastic dog!
  • 5/11 - Fiona is getting more comfortable all of the time and is very eager to please. She's a happy girl and a great listener. Another stellar walk today!
  • 5/12 - Fiona is definitely settled in now and is often the case, more of her behavioral concerns are starting to display themselves. She is showing a bit more of her territorial side, with barking at people and dogs as they walk by the front gate. She barked at a person passing on the sidewalk today as she started her walk and received a quick correction with a stern "Leave-It". Again, she reacted to a person walking two dogs a bit into the walk and the correction and "Leave-It" were repeated. After that, we passed some more people and dogs on the walk and she ignored them. Smart girl!
  • 5/13 - More practice with stranger reactivity during our walk today. Fiona immediately barked at the first person we saw, walking a bike across the street and was corrected, being told to "Leave-It", along with "Quiet." Later, in the park, a guy walked past us and she gave a low grumble. A firm verbal "Leave-It" and she stopped her growl. She completely ignored everyone else we saw and did well passing some dogs who were barking along their fence line. She was more startled by them than anything. All in all, good work today!
  • 5/15 - During our walk today, Fiona gruffed at a few people in passing and was easily corrected with a verbal "Leave-It" and stopping immediately. Great response by the sweet girl and we'll keep practicing to drive the idea home!
  • 5/18 - A great walk today. Fiona still has an initial reaction to bark at some people passing by, but immediately stops with a verbal correction and is completely submissive. She's very eager to please!
  • 5/19 - Fantastic walk today! We had someone surprise us around a corner and Fiona gave the slightest bark and then stopped immediately with "Leave-It" and submissively checked in. After that we passed cyclists, joggers and other dogs without any reaction from Fiona, especially with a preemptive "Leave-It." Excellent work! 
  • 5/24 - Fiona is doing quite well. "Leave-it!" means just that...leave it, as in leave it alone, don't react. She is getting much better, but still wants to notify us of people going by. We also use "Quiet" for the barking, etc. Again, much improved, but she want to get the last word in. We will go over her progress and what to do moving forward when you pick her up. She will be terribly missed. We all love her!
  • 5/26 - Another excellent walk in the books! Fi gave some slight grumbles at folks here and there, just as indicators/warnings that someone was in proximity, but listened to "Leave-It" extremely well and continued walking without issue.
  • 5/27 - Again with some slight grumbles at dogs or people in passing during our walk, but easily corrected with "Leave-It" or "Ssshh." We even passed one person and Fiona checked in with a nose nudge instead of growling, to which she received tons of pets and praise! Fiona has improved greatly with being territorial and listening to Quiet. She still has instincts to respond, but is much better at being receptive to being told no and following instruction. Overall obedience and listening have greatly improved as well.