We All Have Bad Days

This past week has been a tough one. My personal anxiety level has been really high. There are a few reasons, but one of the contributing factors has been that I've noticed some signs of stress in my dogs as well as some regression in some of their training. It's hard to see dips in progress, but it's normal to have them. You would never expect one of your friends or family members to be happy and perfect all of the time, but sometimes we fail to extend that understanding to our dogs. They can't be at the top of their game 24/7.

Troy

Troy's stationary work has been lacking lately. He is normally my most reliable dog for holding a sit or a down, or for staying on his mat. Spice and Zero do just fine with this too, but I have confidently left Troy in a sit stay in front of a group class of 8 dogs while I left the ring to go and get something. I had no doubt in my mind that he would stay there. The other day, he stood up from a sit while I was standing right beside him.

In all honesty, I feel frustrated with this. We have worked really hard on his stationary behaviours, so it is upsetting to see it fade. However, I am doing my best not to direct my frustration at Troy. If he is no longer holding these positions, something has happened or changed to make him confused about the criteria for these behaviours. It's up to me, his trainer, to make it more clear what is expected from him.

To fix it, I am going to review our stationary work. I will temporarily not ask him to hold a sit or down unless we are training. In the meantime, if I really need him to stay put, I will put him in a crate or in another room. We will quickly get back to where we were as long as we work it slowly. Troy will set the pace. If he's struggling, we'll take a step or two back. If he's doing well, we'll increase the challenge.

Zero

Zero has been stressed out in his crate recently. He has actually rubbed the tip of his nose raw. For the past couple of weeks, I haven't been crating him and leaving to prevent further injury to his nose. He has still been crated, but I have been nearby. This week, I am going to work up to leaving him while he is crated. I have prepared and frozen some stuffed Toppls to give him in his crate while I am gone, and I will start with short amounts of time.

Zero has also seemed a little extra grouchy for the past little while. He has always been full of terrier attitude, but this seems like more. He has been irritated by little things that wouldn't normally bother him. As a small dog, I think his fears and frustrations sometimes get overlooked because his size means he can't really be all that dangerous. It's important to remember that small dogs feel just as uncomfortable as large dogs when they display signs of stress.

Spice

Spice has not been acting like herself at all this past week. She isn't enjoying activities that she normally loves. She is normally so happy and excited to do tricks, but she hasn't been engaging with me when we train. She was actually acting as my demo dog for a class on Tuesday, but I ended up replacing her with Troy mid-class because she was acting so strange. She has been fearful of people and things who wouldn't normally bother her too. She has even been a bit skittish with people who she likes a lot.

I am convinced that something happened to illicit this amount of stress, but I don't know what it is. It probably doesn't even really matter. What does matter is helping her through it. I've ordered a calming supplement that was recommended by another trainer and friend. I have been bringing her with me as much as possible to keep her close while she recovers from this. I am offering her lots of things to chew on to help her relax, and I am feeding her lots of treats whenever something scary is happening.

It has been hard to see her like this when she had been thriving previously. I love her so much, and I just want to see her happy. She recovered from her last period of stress, and she will recover from this one too. I just wish there was something I could do to expedite the process.

Me

As for my own anxiety, I have to keep reminding myself that I am not alone in this. We all go through struggles with our dogs. It's hard to remember that when you see so many posts on social media about everyone's highlights with their canine companions. That's why I'm sharing this. If you are going through a tough time with your dog, know that you are not alone. Whether your dog is fearful, full of beans, or just having one of those days, you are among many dog owners who sometimes feel at a loss with their training. It sucks. I won't sugarcoat it and pretend that it doesn't, but at least we can feel sucky together.