Photos of Jessa

JessaHere some photos of Jessa, with an update on her progress:

Jessa‘s been doing really well. Practically no accidents and overall, she seems very happy. We’re having such a good time with her. The correctly sized Easy Walk harness arrived today, so we’re going to start her walking with that (quick question, should we take the harness off when she’s in the house? It doesn’t look like the most comfortable thing to hang around in). All in all, she’s doing great!

Thank you again for all of your help!!
A.

p.s. One of the photos is of her chewing on a Cesar Milan book. Thought that was kind of funny…

jessachewingcesarKristin’s reponse:
I am SO happy to hear that things continue to go well. See, you can do it!! I am proud of the work you’ve done with her and her happiness is something to savor…You deserve how good it feels to see her happiness.
Also, you are right that she should not be in her harness full time. Just put it on her for walks or when you are training her or need her under control (to and from the car, for example).
Thanks for the update!
-Kristin

Progress report on Jessa

Here is a follow up note and progress report on Jessa as reported in a post a few days ago. Looks like things are looking up for them!

Yes, we are using Nature’s Miracle to clean all of her accidents and it definitely does work. The only spot she repeatedly pees in is by the door through which we go outside to potty, and those–I believe–are the “true” accidents…the times when she really was trying to tell us she needed to go but we missed the cues. Otherwise, she’s not a repeat offender in any one spot. I doused the couch with Nature’s Miracle after the incident and then took the cushion covers to the dry cleaners (which I’d been planning on doing anyway, cuz they were kind of stinky), and both seem to have done the trick.

So far this week, she’s doing terrific!! She has been really well-behaved, save a few crazy moments. She’s responding incredibly well to being gated in the hallway instead of crated. Even our dog walker noted a change in her happiness level. So that’s been good. And she has had only ONE accident. Yesterday, my husband had to work, so it was a normal day of alone time until the dog walker and then again until I came home from work. She seemed to be okay in the hallway, but it was pouring rain when the dog walker came, and Jessa refused to make outside. Our dogwalker left us a note saying she tried her best, but Jess wouldn’t go. So when I came home there was a dried puddle by the “going out” door. So I silently cleaned it and took her right out. I wasn’t upset at all, because I knew it wasn’t her fault. We had a nice walk and a fun romp at the dog park and she was great the rest of the night.

I’m purchasing the Easy Walk Harness today, then, as I’ve only heard great things about it, and I think that’s really the second key thing we need to work on. She’s gotten really good, though, with sitting before we walk out the door—she even did it without any prompting yesterday (only once, but still…it’s a start!!)—and she’s REALLY good about waiting on the steps for me to say it’s okay to run up or down. So it’s just the tugging that is the necessary correction to make.

All in all, things are on the up and up. She overall seems much happier and more fulfilled. We’ll see how she does next week when it’s a full work/school week for me and J- and she’ll be on a regular schedule.

I’ll keep you posted. Thanks again for all your help and advice!!!!!

Yea! Success! Now just keep up the good work. Expect progress to improve, take a step back, and improve again as you find the perfect “recipe” for success. But it seems clear that you’ve gotten a handle on most of the frustrating problems and for that I am so happy. Keep me posted!

Advice on problem dog behavior

I got a request for “advice’ recently that I wanted to post. It is important to always remember that this sort of advice can not be as thorough as that given by someone directly involved with the family or the dog. This advice should also not be used in place of veterinary care or professional dog training.

Hi Kristin,

We adopted Jessa three months ago…she was a stray wandering the streets of Aurora. We don’t think she was a stray for very long, as she didn’t really have any physical or emotional scars. She’s incredibly friendly to all people and other dogs. She loves kids. She’s a very happy and lovely dog. The vet says she’s about a year old, give or take a month or two.

(more…)