Shake it Baby part: 2

Mary asks for it, she shall receive it!
Thea shakes...

Shake it Baby

Perhaps it's because she is a puppy mill pup... I don't know... but, it seems Thea has to be forced to do new things. Once she is pushed she seems to accept. The beach, for instance... she refused to even go within ear shot of the waves but when I forced her to the sand then to the water she just clicked.

Well, tonight was kind of the same thing. I was determined, after a message from Pam, that I was going to teach her to "shake". I'm determined that she CAN and WILL learn. So tonight I grabbed some treats and the clicker, locked the other dogs out of the house and started to work with her.

I know, luring isn't recommended or ideal but this is a special situation so... I grabbed her paw, lifted it up, clicked and shoved a treat into her mouth. After doing this about 15 times she lifted the front paw I was not working with. I clicked it and treated her and that was it! She is now offering me a paw to the cue "shake". She is not consistant with one or the other paw but that's ok for now!!

This just seems like a HUGE accomplishment for our girl!

It's been a while and we've made tremendous progress!

I was just looking over the blog posts and realizing just how far Thea has come.

She is now braving the waves at the beach!! That is her most recent accomplishment. I just refused to take no for an answer. We visited the beach house a few times and Thea always "freaked" when it came to going down to the beach so I would sit at the pool with her trying to coax her out of the corner and into the water. Well, 2 weekends ago I had enough... I dragged her and carried her down to the sand. She didn't like the soft sand but as soon as her feet hit the water she turned into a different dog! Now after 3 trips to the beach she is running in the water, swimming in the water, chasing frisbees and balls and just in general being a regular dog! One of our friends didn't even recognize her!!

Thea is also swimming in the pool. She dives in (however gracefully she can manage) and retrieves toys! What a change from the dog we met almost a year ago.

Thea also has a new "sport". I've been working her on the agility equipment. She jumps over the jumps and runs over the A-Frame and Dog Walk. I even have her jumping through the tire (at a very low level). Of course, she is being lured all the way.

Because of Thea's past I doubt she will ever play in agility like other dogs. Her learning capacity seems to be very limited. I've been able to teach her to sit for a cookie and get on equipment for a cookie but in 10 months I still have not been able to teach her to "shake".

Who knows how long she was in that horrible puppy mill but it was a very long time. Every now and then I see a glimmer of a "normal" dog... but she will always be "different" and "special".

For now... Thea Brave Girl is living up to her name!