Sunny

Sunny and Annabelle - Training Photos, Videos and Updates

Pawsitive Notes - Tracking Sunny and Annabelle's Milestones

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9/11 - The girls are a little nervous upon their return. They aren't eating alot, but are remembering the potty routine and were super happy to get out and hang with Jen again!
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3/9 - Sunny is very nervous still. She got out with Mark and Jen this morning and did a couple of walk by sniffing passes. That was the extent of her willingness to try interaction with Jen so far. We'll get out a few more times today and work to try and build her confidence to let her know she is safe and sound.
3/10 - Sunny is still adjusting and nervous, but slowly gaining a bit of confidence. She's nibbling at her food throughout the day and has no problems eating her pills if they are in a pill pocket. Out in the run she is still skittish with the new sounds and space, but is spending more time hanging out closer to the trainers and she even allowed Jen a few, brief, under the chin scratches a couple of times today.
3/11 - Sunny is slow to warm. She's eating more but still pretty nervous out in the run. We introduced her to the jolly ball today. She was curious at times, but unsure. She still didn't want to have much interaction with Jen in the run as far as wanting to be touched, but was much clingier following her around the space. She soaked up some more under the chin pets in the crate as well.
3/14 - Sunny is finally starting to warm up! Mark laid on the ground with her today in the office and let her explore around while he cooed at her. She would run back and forth from exploring and then over to him for kisses!
3/16 - Sunny warmed up to Jen today as well! They played a bit in the run, running back and forth and occasionally Sunny would run by and lick Jen's hands. Then, when Jen sat down for a rest, Sunny climbed all over her to give her kisses on the face! Such a sweet love bug!!!
3/17 - Sunny is really starting to open up. She is now starting to engage in play with Mark in the run as well. She was very slow to warm, but is bonding, giving kisses and accepting (sometimes even seeking) pets. She is starting to get vocal in the office when the pack goes outside as well, which generally shows interest in engaging with others and not wanting to be left out. We are hoping to get her out with Mark's dogs soon, now that she is warming up and relaxing!
3/18 - Sunny got out on leash with Rodeo and Drogo today. It went pretty well. She was nervous, but handled herself well for the most part. She did show a bit of possessiveness around Mark, raising her lips at Rodeo once. On the plus side, she got a verbal correction and immediately stopped, choosing not to escalate. Overall, we are pleased. This will obviously be a slow process, but we saw a lot of good things with the initial interaction as well.
3/24 - Sunny has been working with Rodeo and Drogo and today, while she was still "on leash", we let the leash go and she walked around of her own volition and slowly interacted with the boys. She did an incredibly good job and only had a slight lip lift once, a bit of possessiveness around Mark, which was quickly corrected with a simple, sharp "Shsssh." She was much less nervous, no tucked tail and comfortably sniffed the boys here and there. Great work!
3/27 - We love Sunny D (aka Sunny Dog). She is a slow slow girl with her progress due to her nervousness and anxiety, but each day we gently chip away at the walls she hides behind and with that she shows us more of her goofy, playful self. She has just recently begun climbing up into my arms for some snuggles and kisses while out in our training run. She was much slower at getting comfortable with me vs Jen, but we have become quite chummy. She has been even slower at being comfortable around my dogs, but she IS making progress, and just today made a HUGE step in the right direction! She made into the whole pack this morning!!
4/1 - Another big couple of days for this sweetheart of a dog! She has become very fond of Loki, the Italian Greyhound?Whippet. She loves to run with him and play a little chase back and forth, and has done so with great joy and pleasure. It is wonderful watching this girl's guard come down and play!
4/13 - Another good couple of days for Sunny D (after a small hicup with a dog that looks a little like Annabelle). She has really taken a shine to Lucy, a 6 month old Husky. They LOVE each other and will very often be found playing together. She is also fine around the dog that looks like Annabelle now, but I do keep a close eye on that. See the latest video below.
4/23 - Another member has finally gotten out to join the pack and Sunny is doing an excellent job of ready the other dog and giving her space to adjust. When the other dog got a bit much in her face, Sunny did very well communicating with her posture and maintaining her cool, trusting the trainer to resolve the situation. She's gotten so good at listening to verbal input from the trainers in different situations. Such a good girl!
4/27 - Dez, the little white dog, got a little overbearing and too much in Sunny's face this morning. Sunny gave a warning snarf/snap. She immediately disengaged from the interaction upon vocal commands from the trainer. The rest of the day, they didn't have any issues. Annabelle is very nervous, which is normal upon first arrival. She did get some sweet pets from Jen today though!
4/28 - Annabelle is still nervous, but is a little calmer. She and Sunny took a pack walk today and did very well!
4/29 - A new dog came into the office today and at different times, Sunny and Annabelle each went up to the crate to say hello. The dog growled and neither of the girls had a negative response to the dog's behavior. Excellent work!
5/1 - Sunny has a lovely heel and is listening pretty well on her walks. We did come across barking dogs at a fence today and she wanted to bolt towards them, giving herself a slight correction on the prong. That, coupled with a sharp "Leave-It" and she immediately gave up the idea and continued walking. Annabelle has a beautiful heel as well. She did an excellent job of listening on her solo walk today. She did a bit of whining when passing other dogs, but no other adverse reactions.
5/5 - Annabelle had a great walk today! We stood off to the side in a driveway (social distancing), while a couple passed with their two dogs. Belly was in a Sit/Stay. She held that the entire time, with only a small amount of whining. Excellent work and listening! Sunny had a good walk today as well. We passed a dog barking on the fence line at her and she was animated, but did an excellent job of listening to leave-it, without barking, growling or lunging. She did get a bit overly excited a few times later on at folks skating by on skateboards, so we continued working "Leave-it" with that as well.
5/11 - Sunny had a great walk today. An off leash dog ran straight up to her face and Sunny behaved so appropriately in greeting the dog and keeping her composure. Couldn't be more proud of her! Annabelle's walk was a bit rougher. We passed multiple fence lines with barking dogs, which is the hardest thing to overcome and handle appropriately for most dogs. Annabelle wanted to lunge at the other dogs and received a couple of self corrections on the prong for lunging. We will continue to work on her obedience with listening to "Leave-it."
5/12 - Another great walk for Sunny! When we got back, one of her buddies was being picked up, so she spent some time saying goodbye and even let the other dog's mom say hello and give pets! Night and day with Annabelle's walk today! She passed multiple sets of dogs across the street, with just a bit of whining. The big accomplishment today was passing one of the houses with the dog barking along the fence line again. She did a bit of whining, but didn't exhibit any other reactive signs! She kept her focus and listened to "Leave-It" and was rewarded with tons of pets and praise afterward!
5/13 - Sunny keeps getting the off leash dogs on her walks! This time there was one on the street corner and as we were approaching, the owner finally leashed it. As we passed, Sunny did a bit of whining, but it appeared to be out of excitement and wanting to say hi, not aggression. A firm "Leave-It" and she gave up the ghost and we were on our way. Excellent work! Annabelle passed a few dogs, some barking, some not from a distance today and hardly whined, listening well to "Leave-It." We did come across some barking along their fence line again and at first, she was doing very well with her "Leave-It" and attempting to avoid them. Right at the very end (of a long fence line) she did lose her composure and lunged at them, earning a quick correction. She was so close! Definite progress however!
5/15 - Excellent walk from miss Annabelle today! We passed lots of dogs from across the street and even had one barking at the end of it's leash at us. Annabelle listened to "Leave-It" and only gave a few whimpers. Nothing to close to challenge us further, but that's a huge leap forward for sweet Annabelle on her walks! Great walk for Sunny as well. She did want to chase birds a bit, but passed a cat on the asphalt with no issues. Sunny listened extremely well to both "Leave-It" and "Heel." The girls got out in the run on leash together and did very well. Sunny was nervous and a little jumpy with Annabelle. Eventually, we dropped the leashes and allowed them to roam together. Again, the did well. Sunny was a little clingy to Jen, so Mark had her leave the run and be on the other side of the gate to push Sunny to separate. Overall, excellent work together and a great building point today!
5/18 - New members were introduced to the pack and Sunny was utterly phenomenal in her response and receptiveness! A new pup came into the office and barked at Annabelle's crated. Annabelle lost her composure and was aggressive in her response, earning her a good correction from Mark. She has not reacted to the other dog since, in passing.
5/19 - Good walks today! Sunny did show some prey drive again with a crow and a squirrel and struggled with "Leave-It" in those instances, however, she was flawless passing people and dogs. Annabelle was the victim of two different sets of dogs barking at fence lines, again, and did extremely well! She whined through each set, but listened to "Leave-It" and did not lunge, growl or bark back, she just kept walking. Super proud of her today!
5/23 - Annabelle is out with the full pack now and behaving appropriately!
5/26 - Sunny and Annabelle were out with the full pack earlier and it was beautiful! Belly was a bit nervous (drooly), but did such a great job with everything coming at her, between dogs trying to share water bowls, playing and bumping into her, one of the puppies was trying to chew on her tail, etc. Plus and perhaps more importantly, she and Sunny stuck pretty close together in the pack most of the time. I'm just thrilled at the progress! Also, Sunny had the heeler snarf at her over the water dish today (which was quickly dealt with by me) and she just backed off and kept her cool. Such a rock star!!!
5/27 - A flawless walk from Sunny today! Annabelle was flawless in the pack today, even with dogs bumping into her and puppies trying to chew on her from time to time! There were even a couple of moments where dogs where playing a game of chase and Annabelle joined in, briefly. So heartwarming to see!