Stuck Like Glue

Hard to believe that was you after all these years. My how things have changed.

Some days I don’t feel like trying.
Some days you know I just wanna give up.
When it doesn’t matter whose right
Fight about it all night
Had enough, you give me that look.
I’m sorry, baby, let’s make up.
You do that think that makes me laugh
And just like that
There you go making my heart beat again
Heart beat again, heart beat again.
There you go making me feel like a kid.
Won’t you do it, do it one time?
There you go pulling me right back in
Right back in, right back in.
And I know I’m never letting this go.
I’m stuck on you.
Whoa-oh, whoa-oh stuck like glue.
You and me, baby, we’re stuck like glue.
“Stuck Like Glue” by Sugarland

Happy 5th Gotcha Day, Risa! It’s almost impossible to believe we’ve been together for five years now. So much has changed. We’ve moved several times. Experienced the stress of life together. You’re certainly not the same dog I brought home from the shelter! Skinny and scared. It’s amazing what a lot of hard work and a quality diet will do. When I look back at old pictures of you, I’m surprised at how thin your coat was. How I could count your ribs. I can even see the lack of confidence and fear in your body positions. It’s hard to remember when the picture I see every day is so vastly different. And I don’t just mean those ever-growing areas of grey! 😉

Five years is quite a milestone. I remember desperately looking forward to just 6 months down the road when I was hoping to have a more manageable companion. Those first few months were frustrating for us both. I didn’t know what to do. Didn’t know how best to help you. You didn’t trust me because I inadvertently placed you in situations that frightened you. Between your fear of the unknown and your dog reactivity, it seemed like a long time before I ever truly enjoyed taking you for a walk. We’re talking years. It’s so hard to believe something so seemingly simple was a source of great frustration for us both for so long.

Happy but skinny little thing.

You’ve become so much more confident in our five years together. While I still have to consider the situation prior to bringing you there, you can handle yourself quite well in stressful locations. You no longer run in fear from people passing you on the streets. New objects are often met with initial apprehension and then curiosity. The sight of another dog no longer turns you into a barking/lunging fury of fur. I knew you were a project from the start. I knew it was going to take a long time to get you to the point where others could see your potential. I was completely unaware of just how much work it was going to be. 😉 But we both stuck together and look at how far we’ve come. Who would have thought the scaredy mutt who couldn’t go outside without being on constant alert for anything and everything that might show up would ever title in rally or canine freestyle? Heck, even getting your CGC was a milestone I thought we may never reach!

But the journey was not a solo trek. No, my friend, you have changed me as well. You taught me patience (a virtue I thought I had) and how to better control my frustration. You also taught me to listen; that it’s not always about what I want. Just because you’re a dog doesn’t mean you don’t have anything important to say. It wasn’t until I truly understood this that we started to make serious headway. Risa also taught me that I knew practically nothing about dog training and that I needed to get up to speed fast! 😉 She also came to me at a time in my life when I had no friends. I had just moved to a new area far away from home. Through Risa, I was able to make some great friends and acquaintances making my time there much nicer and less lonely. Some of my best friends I met through my dog.

May 2008, Risa earned her CGC. I remember reading the requirements when I first brought her home and laughing. There wasn't a thing on that list she could have passed at that time!

Every year when her Gotcha Day approaches, I like to go back and re-read some of the postings I made about her in our early days together. It helps me keep things in perspective and realize how far we’ve truly come. Today, I’d like to share some of those quotes. 😉

This one is from the first weekend I had her:

Whenever I say “No” she looks like she’s expecting to get smacked. Poor babe. She is a little shy and reserved, but not bad at all. She’s already my shadow and willingly comes to me when I call when she’s around the house. I don’t think she’s had any obedience training so we’re going to take a course over at Petsmart. It will help socialize both of us.

And if you have any suggestions on how to get her to stop licking my face all the time, I would appreciate it. She’s a kisser. I know I’m not going to have dominance problems with her at all. She’s pretty submissive.

I like this one because it really shows my ignorance. I wrote this one about 5 days after I had brought her home. It sounds like I was expecting her to turn around instantly:

I dunno. Sometimes it feels as if we haven’t progressed at all. I know we have. However, once we’re outside, it’s an entirely different story. She tugs on the leash so that she leads instead of me. She pulls towards distractions (people, other dogs). She cowers from men. She was even uncomfortable in Petsmart yesterday, although she didn’t do too badly (and we didn’t really see any men). I just feel everyone is judging her (and consequently me) when we go out. She reminds me of all those dogs whose owners I secretly chastised in my mind when I saw them. It looks like I haven’t done any training with her at all. Which is only partly true. I just got her!! It’s not my fault she had no training or socialization for the last 2.5 years. And it’s not her fault either. But I know that’s something no one is thinking when they see her. Because they can’t see her past when they look at her.

Obedience classes outside using that 'clicker-training deal.'

And I know it’s going to take time. It just seems like I’ve got such a long list of stuff to work on with her and I don’t know where to start. I can’t take her to obedience classes with her fear of men. It’d be pointless because she wouldn’t be concentrating on me. It’s going to be tough to teach her on my own, but I’m going to start with ‘sit’ this weekend. I think I’m going to have to get her some kind of training collar to stop this pulling on the leash because my hand is starting to hurt from gripping the leash so hard. And she really needs to stop climbing on top of me on the couch to lick my face!

It’s not her fault. . . But that doesn’t make my job any easier.

I love this quote especially because I’m such a clicker-training junkie now. I just have to laugh at my initial thoughts on clicker training. If only I had realized what a valuable tool it was going to be:

I heard back from the trainer I contacted. Prices seem pretty reasonable and they do offer a beginning agility class. ‘Course, that would be after she got through all the other OB. It’s a clicker-training deal. . .which I’m not a huge fan of. Mainly because I don’t always wanna carry a clicker around. I’d prefer she work to make me happy–or occasionally for food. Either way, I want to get us started.

Perhaps some things will never change. Focus on me while outside has always been a struggle for the Mutt:

Believe me, I know we’ve come a long way in four months time. She used to run whenever we passed any human being; freak out at garbage cans, sandwich boards, fire hydrants; pull to the end of her leash and try to chase rabbits and birds (she still tries, but she doesn’t pull to the end of her leash to do it); and she had absolutely no obedience training. I have seen some progress but there are some things that don’t seem to have progressed at all. Mainly, paying attention to me. Well, she is better at that, especially if I have a toy (or food). She knows one of the best ways to get her toy or a treat is to make eye contact with me. She was doing that last night and she’s done it during the slow moments when she’s out playing with Parker. Still, I know if she ends up off-leash and sets her mind to it, I will no longer exist. We haven’t worked on recalls in months.

Relaxed Risa in a crowded conference room full of people and dogs at Clicker Expo 2009.

Early reactivity-training success:

After our demonstration, she wasn’t really needed anymore. But I didn’t feel like putting her away and figured we could use this time to work on our own stuff. I mean, what better time to work on distractions/leash-reactivity than in a room full of 6 humans and 4 dogs with clickers going off and treats being dispensed?

So I spent some time clicking and treating her for looking at me. She didn’t just sit and stare at me like a robot the whole time and I didn’t expect her to. But once she looked back at me, she got click/treated. At one point, her and Tink got within nose distance (they could just barely sniff each other). I watched Ris (since she was on-leash) and she seemed calm. She even made herself into a nice ‘C’ shape and instigated play with the lil Min Pin! The two of them were darting around as far as their leashes would let them and doing play bows back and forth. It was hilarious. Neither Tink’s owner nor I had a straight face. They were too cute!

The Cairn terrier in the class took to barking at Tink. When she’d bark, Ris would look at her and then turn back to look at me. Click/treat! Yes! That’s exactly what I want! You see dog (no matter what it’s doing) and you look to me! YAY! We got to practice this a couple times.

With as much progress as I’ve seen in the past five years, I look forward to the next five years (and further!) together. I have had so much fun taking Risa from a fearful shelter mutt to an outstanding canine companion and competitor. She may never be confident in every situation. She’s likely always going to be fearful and reactive. She might not ever attain high-level titles in dog sports. But it doesn’t matter. I am so proud of her for being able to reach her potential. And I’m proud of me for never giving up on her. She’s one-in-a-million and I love her so much.

Since it’s such a momentous occasion, I got her a Nina Ottosson Dog Tornado toy for her Gotcha Day present. Plus, we have a super-fun weekend planned full of activities she absolutely enjoys. On top of that, she’s going to get to see friends she hasn’t seen in over a year. I cannot wait!