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Monday, September 30, 2019

The Hachi Chronicle

Hachi had a mostly good week, with only a couple of small incidents. On his revised medicine schedule, we notice his arousal and intensity rising around dinner time, prior to our evening walk. This is despite the fact that he should be well-covered by meds at that point because we give doses in the late afternoon to head off this intensity.

His intensity blows me away. We've been working very hard on his recalls, playing games where one of us is the distraction and the other calls him. He has learned to bolt to us when called very fast. This is what the start of a recall looks like. That sure is intensity!

His focus and intensity mean that he can learn new things very fast. He rockets to a high level of proficiency in the blink of an eye.
The downside is that, when his intensity ratchets upward, he becomes more likely to show signs of aggression toward the Duo. For example, when he's too intense, he will resource guard a mushroom in the forest from R, even though it doesn't appear to me that Hachi likes to eat mushrooms. That's what happened this evening. It was just a short snarl - no harm done to R.

He had another harmless incident when we were preparing Snuffle Mats, loaded with kibble, for the three dogs. R walked into the room, and Hachi barked aggressively at him from inside his ex pen. It wasn't a big deal but it does make me think that we need another medicine adjustment.

I've noticed that Shyla can read Hachi really well. She seems to know when it's okay to approach him, greet him, or join him in sniffing something. She sometimes appears to try to soothe him when he's over threshold in his ex pen, and she lies right next to it (perfectly safe due to the ex pen). It's interesting to see our fearful girl playing this role.
Despite those two incidents, I'd say that it was a pretty good week. Hachi was mostly happy and relaxed.

18 comments:

  1. good to hear that you had a good week... and we hope that even the small incidents become rare events...

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  2. I love that first launch... Leaping Hachi! what a jump you have... so beautiful. prayers for all of you

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  3. Hari OM
    Love to read the positives - knowing that they are counterbalanced. Overall, though, all good! YAM xx

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  4. He sure looks focused on his recall in those pictures. We're glad to hear this past week was mostly a good one. Shyla sure is a special girl to try to soothe Hachi.

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  5. I saw this so much with my setter, Boo, after she lost her sight; my 8 lb terrier mix, who would never have dared to be aggressive with her before, would wait until Boo innocently approached the sofa where I would be sitting with the little dog, then the little one would literally jump up and lunge to deliberately bite Boo on her face :( Boo would yelp and jump away, and it was heartbreaking. Dogs sense weakness and take advantage of it. If I turned my back for a second, the little one would also sneak in and grab food out of Boo's bowl at mealtimes. Boo would get upset and discouraged, and stop eating. Boo was also a basically sweet, gentle dog, never one to fight back, and R appears to be the same. That behavior is really hard to correct, especially when dealing with a big, strong, young dog, and not a small senior, as it is just in their nature - survival of the fittest :( Hopefully the meds will continue to keep Hachi's behavior in check...

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  6. Good on Shyla for assisting with Hachi. Perhaps they'll each learn from one another.

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  7. You are a very good mediator, Shyla, and one very special girl. The camera sure does love you, Hachi!

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  8. Great actions shots. Love the profile one too. A pretty good week is better than a horrible week. Good for you and the pups.

    Have a fabulous day and week. Scritches to the pups. ♥

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  9. Have you tried homeopathy? It worked with my reactive dog instead of meds. Have you researched how vaccines (mostly the rabies vaccine) causes aggression. I know most places people live you have to have it by law but if you live in a place where you can get a waiver (because shots are only for healthy pets per the handout that comes with the vaccine) and being reactive is not a normal reaction in dogs (so hence your dog is unhealthy).

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  10. That last image is truly an autumn beauty. Beautiful golden light highlighting your beautiful boy.

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  11. What wonderful photos!! I'm so glad you feel the week was not too bad, it sounds like you are heading in the right direction with everything. Luke has that hyper-focus too, I imagine that intensity is probably often seen in reactive dogs.
    Jan, Wag 'n Woof Pets

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  12. I always enjoy hearing their was more good than bad during the week...That Shyla must be a natural empath, how sweet of her to try and "comfort" Hachi.

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  13. I would guess resource guarding will always be a problem since the poor pup learned the necessity of it at such a young age, but hopefully medication can help. Dogs read dogs so well, and they know so many things before humans have any idea.

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  14. A mostly good week really is fantastic news! Shyla, you're such a sweetie!

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  15. Yay for a mostly good week! What a good girl Shyla is to try to help him
    hugs
    Mabel & Hilda

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  16. Shyla the social worker dog. So sensitive. Great recall. The terriers usually look around to see if there is something more interesting before coming.

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  17. A pretty good week is pretty terrific. So fascinating to hear about Shyla's ability to read Hachi. Who knew?!

    Best thoughts for your dad and family - hoping that the fog and confusion are anesthesia-related as several suggested a few days ago.

    Cheers,
    Chris from Boise

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  18. I am glad Shula is able to read Hachi. I wonder if R could see if he could do the same. I hope you have a few uneventful weeks.

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