A lovely Valentine's weekend away at The Hayloft The Wild of the Words - Pridie Tiernan
Esme's first trip to the land where I grew up, it was brief, emotional, and she LOVED IT!
The Hayloft was a brilliant space; warm, comfortable, plenty of space for Esme's massive bed, and plenty of comfy sleep spots.
Her window TV was much more interesting than usual, watching the horses, birds, sheep, and looking at the mountains. ALL to be seen from the window.
We will definitely be going back there, can't wait to see the farm in the spring time. Might even be brave enough to do some camping on their campsite!
Thank you for having us!
She has no idea this will lead to another bath-time.
What they teach you in puppy classes... Sleep regression in Dogs: This is the period where a dog's sleep pattern can significantly change. It's often characterised by increased nighttime waking, restlessness, or disrupted sleep, in Esme's case it's all three plus night barks.
This can also tie-in with the second fear phase which, if you've been following Esme's training, you'll know has manifested in people shyness/mistrust.
We had nailed Esme's sleep, her dad was the best at the nighttime routine (I'm useless after 8pm). She would settle herself in bed about 730pm, we'd wake her up for last wee's and maybe some calm interaction (brushing or settle training or just strokes), then she'd settle back down and sleep downstairs all through the night.
Then we started the 11pm barking, this usually coincided with neighbours returning from late shift, or leaving for night shift. She'd hear their car and start barking, sometimes she'd settle herself down again, sometimes we'd have to come down to interrupt the barking, taking her outside and offer toileting.
Then the 1am barks...
Then the 3am barks...
Sometimes we get the 5am barks...
It's effectively sleep torture, my partner is a much heavier sleeper than I am, I am also an insomniac and once I'm awake I sometimes cannot get back to sleep. This plays merry hell with your cognitive functions, and affects your level of calm empathetic thought too.
And funnily enough if lack of sleep does that to you, it also does the same for your dog!
Training became harder, they forget cues or routines go out the window. Needs change too, they may need more space or more attention.
On days like these, a decompression walk, a couple of slow release chews, and space to rest is ESSENTIAL. And the dog would benefit from it too.
If you'd like to know how we're managing and (when possible... But not today) training around this, drop me a DM or email.
When Esme met Raffi,
thank you Muddy Trails dog coaching for letting us meet your new family member!
Working on desensitizing and calmness around new stimuli.
Cues used:
Mat (settle)
This way (Redirect)
Touch (Refocus)
Yes and treat (reinforce calm behaviour, disengagement)
Joey's Legacy Rescue & Rehoming
#puppytraining #positivereinforcement
#dogtrainer #dogtrainerportsmouth
#adoptdontshop
Using a focus cue to calm down play. Suggs loves Spin!
Dexter prefers hand targeting.
Good Bye 2023!
Thank you to all my clients, working together to improve their lives and their dogs lives, using R+ training and communication.
Bring on 2024!