I started this blog thinking I would do it from Molly's point of view, but now think that I will change it over to my point of view. I am Clarissa, Molly's owner. I work full time as an elementary school teacher's aide and part time as a Graphic Designer at a silk screening shop. Molly came into my Fiancé's and my life on January 20, 2013. It was a Sunday and we had just moved into a house of our own after being without a home for over a year. We had had to give up the Golden Retriever that we had had while he was in the Air Force in New Mexico. It was not something we wanted to do and we miss that dog to this day, but we were having issues finding jobs and knew that it would be unfair to Indi to drag him along, not knowing where we were going to live and when we could feed him. We bypassed putting him in a shelter and interviewed many families before choosing one that we thought was a good fit for him. We wanted to make sure we were stable before getting another dog into our life. We didn't want to have to give another pet up! That's what lead us to that faithful day last year. We had just moved into a house and both had stable jobs. We decided to go to Woodward, Oklahoma and got to the animal control there to see if they had any Golden Retrievers. We found a greyhound that we liked at first. Older. We talked about getting her, but the shelter was still looking for her owners and had a lead on them. We walked around some more and I saw Molly. She was laying in her kennel just watching people go by. There was a tag that said there was a hold on her. We asked about her and why the hold and were told that someone brought her in from Fargo, OK. She was found wandering the highway and the person brought her in and told her who she belong to. The owners had been contacted three days prior but had never come in like they said they would. They contacted the person that found her and that person said that as long as she wasn't going back to Fargo, that she could go home with us. She was so calm in the truck, falling asleep on the hour drive back to southwest Kansas. She even whined when she needed to potty. That's when we decided that we got a great dog and that she looked like a Molly.
It wasn't long before we figured out she wasn't house trained but that only took about three days for me to get through her head. What really surprised us though was her reaction to people. She could care less about them at the shelter, but it soon became apparent that she had reactivity issues. When I tried walking her, she would try to chase cars (and if she could bolt out the door when one went by she'd go for the tires while it was driving down the street). She would bark and lunge and people and other dogs while on leash. I could barely take her for a walk. When she was on leash and another dog approached her, ignoring her barking and lunging, she would calm down and greet them. But her greeting wasn't normal. She sniffs the other dog's face. Most dogs in this small town, while not thrilled about the wrong way of greeting let her slide with it and she has made many furry friends. She loves playing with other dogs. I have come to the conclusion that her reaction to people is anxiety/fear based and am currently working with her to overcome that. Her reactions because of other dogs? That's excitement. She sees other dogs and immediately wants to play so she gets frustrated that she can't go to the other dog. Another issue I am working on.
Since we got her, she has met and stayed with an elderly man and woman. The man got around in a scooter/wheelchair which she didn't even try to chase. She adored them both at first but began to dislike the man as he was starting to mentally abuse my fiancé and me while we were there visiting and he even started bad talking Molly. Stating she had fleas and other things. Even though she didn't like the man as much, she didn't get aggressive with him. She just steered clear of him. Then Molly and I went and stayed with a middle aged couple. She was reactive at first but had not settled in with them and adores the woman and tries to get the man to like her better. He is indifferent to her. Since we got here, she has been spayed and has even gotten to have a little off leash play with other dogs.
Yesterday I got to do more training with her and people. Some relatives stopped by of the people we are staying with. I moved Molly away to where she wasn't barking and got her interested in her frisbee. I slowly moved closer to the people, watching Molly the whole time. We moved toward the water spigot which was about 10 feet away from the people and put some water out for her to play in. She played in it with her back to the new people knowing they were there. Later she wanted to calmly go to them and sniff them. We ended up sitting near them and she ran through her obedience for me. Another set of people started heading our way. I moved her back again to start the process over. There was a kid with them. He is one of the kids in my 2nd grade class. I was giving Molly treats for not reacting and she was doing okay watching them. Of course, the kid came towards me and Molly started barking some. I told the kid to stop and go back. He ignored me and she ran at him barking and nipping at his shoes. (She is a herding breed, so she was trying to herd him back, still unacceptable.) I called her back and got her to sit/stay and his grandmother got onto him for not listening to me in the first place. I moved her back to where she wasn't reacting and start the process of working with her again. Finally, putting her in the pen nearby so that I could go talk to the kid. I'm upset that she reacted and nipped his shoes, but also mad that the kid, a 2nd grader, didn't listen to me at all when Itold him to stay back. But I've learned from that mistake and will work with adults for now until she is flawless with them then start with children. In the meantime, she will be put inside or in her pen when I see a child approaching. I wish I was closer to a bigger city to get her formal training, but for now, I am all she has. She has made strides since I got her. She now accepts 6 other people aside from my fiancé and me and she is getting better with listening to me around other dogs and I have even gotten her to where she is less reactive to cars when they go by. I have been slowing closing the distance to the street and treating her for looking at the cars but not chasing.
My goals for Molly? I'd like her to be a therapy dog one day. Be comfortable enough with people that she can help them. I'm also interested in getting her her Canine Good Citizen test done and compete in agility and fly disc with her one day. It will be lots of hard work and she may never be comfortable enough to reach all those goals, but we will work hard and see where we can get her. My ultimate goal is for her to live a life free from fear and anxiety. Feel free to follow our journey. Our triumphs and mistakes as we try to figure everything out!
It wasn't long before we figured out she wasn't house trained but that only took about three days for me to get through her head. What really surprised us though was her reaction to people. She could care less about them at the shelter, but it soon became apparent that she had reactivity issues. When I tried walking her, she would try to chase cars (and if she could bolt out the door when one went by she'd go for the tires while it was driving down the street). She would bark and lunge and people and other dogs while on leash. I could barely take her for a walk. When she was on leash and another dog approached her, ignoring her barking and lunging, she would calm down and greet them. But her greeting wasn't normal. She sniffs the other dog's face. Most dogs in this small town, while not thrilled about the wrong way of greeting let her slide with it and she has made many furry friends. She loves playing with other dogs. I have come to the conclusion that her reaction to people is anxiety/fear based and am currently working with her to overcome that. Her reactions because of other dogs? That's excitement. She sees other dogs and immediately wants to play so she gets frustrated that she can't go to the other dog. Another issue I am working on.
Since we got her, she has met and stayed with an elderly man and woman. The man got around in a scooter/wheelchair which she didn't even try to chase. She adored them both at first but began to dislike the man as he was starting to mentally abuse my fiancé and me while we were there visiting and he even started bad talking Molly. Stating she had fleas and other things. Even though she didn't like the man as much, she didn't get aggressive with him. She just steered clear of him. Then Molly and I went and stayed with a middle aged couple. She was reactive at first but had not settled in with them and adores the woman and tries to get the man to like her better. He is indifferent to her. Since we got here, she has been spayed and has even gotten to have a little off leash play with other dogs.
Yesterday I got to do more training with her and people. Some relatives stopped by of the people we are staying with. I moved Molly away to where she wasn't barking and got her interested in her frisbee. I slowly moved closer to the people, watching Molly the whole time. We moved toward the water spigot which was about 10 feet away from the people and put some water out for her to play in. She played in it with her back to the new people knowing they were there. Later she wanted to calmly go to them and sniff them. We ended up sitting near them and she ran through her obedience for me. Another set of people started heading our way. I moved her back again to start the process over. There was a kid with them. He is one of the kids in my 2nd grade class. I was giving Molly treats for not reacting and she was doing okay watching them. Of course, the kid came towards me and Molly started barking some. I told the kid to stop and go back. He ignored me and she ran at him barking and nipping at his shoes. (She is a herding breed, so she was trying to herd him back, still unacceptable.) I called her back and got her to sit/stay and his grandmother got onto him for not listening to me in the first place. I moved her back to where she wasn't reacting and start the process of working with her again. Finally, putting her in the pen nearby so that I could go talk to the kid. I'm upset that she reacted and nipped his shoes, but also mad that the kid, a 2nd grader, didn't listen to me at all when Itold him to stay back. But I've learned from that mistake and will work with adults for now until she is flawless with them then start with children. In the meantime, she will be put inside or in her pen when I see a child approaching. I wish I was closer to a bigger city to get her formal training, but for now, I am all she has. She has made strides since I got her. She now accepts 6 other people aside from my fiancé and me and she is getting better with listening to me around other dogs and I have even gotten her to where she is less reactive to cars when they go by. I have been slowing closing the distance to the street and treating her for looking at the cars but not chasing.
My goals for Molly? I'd like her to be a therapy dog one day. Be comfortable enough with people that she can help them. I'm also interested in getting her her Canine Good Citizen test done and compete in agility and fly disc with her one day. It will be lots of hard work and she may never be comfortable enough to reach all those goals, but we will work hard and see where we can get her. My ultimate goal is for her to live a life free from fear and anxiety. Feel free to follow our journey. Our triumphs and mistakes as we try to figure everything out!
