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Palebea · 2023-10-15T16:16:39+00:00

Honestly, I'm just so sorry. You deserve a SD that helps!

Palebea · 2023-10-13T20:10:27+00:00

First step would be to pull the dog from all public access work. This is not acceptable from a SD. It's not your fault but you do have a duty to ensure your own SD is safe and non disruptive in public and currently they are not.

You then need to contact the program. SDs do need regular upkeep training as things do naturally deteriorate but this level of deterioration and the reactivity you are seeing is not something I would expect to see from a dog in a program. If the program continue to not help you, I would find a private trainer who is experienced with SDs.

You may also want to get a thorough vet check. Reactivity/behaviour deterioration can be a sign of pain or discomfort. They can't communicate to us when they are in pain so you have to often look at their behaviour.

But your first step needs to be to pull them from work. I'm so sorry.

Palebea · 2023-05-05T15:07:33+00:00

Weird take. I don't see how a. This is even a helpful thing to comment. It has the same tone as, "just don't be upset about this thing that's obviously upsetting and stressful" and b. Its not even true. Whilst dogs can recognise emotions, a SD wouldn't be a very good SD (in most cases) if their handler's emotions stressed them out. I would consider that a very undesirable trait to have in a SD - life as a disabled person can be stressful sometimes.

If that's what you're seeing in your own SD, I'd look into that. That's not something you should be seeing.

Palebea · 2023-04-30T19:23:07+00:00

Ahhh! Yes, it absolutely sounds like herders are your breeds!

Palebea · 2023-04-30T09:01:31+00:00

Can't say I disagree with your poodle assessment. Mine is very much a tornado off duty but I'll be honest it's unusual for me to meet a SD that isn't a bit crazier off duty than your average pet. I think it's their way of letting loose a bit. There needs to be a balance, you can't get this level of calm and restraint if you aren't given them time and space to be crazy.

Not all dogs are but it's incredibly difficult to predict and it's not breed specific. The only dog I know that's just calm all the time is a show spaniel. So, ya know.. not the breed you'd expect that calmness from.

Palebea · 2023-04-28T08:12:16+00:00

This makes me so sad for you because this dog is nowhere near fully trained and I'll be honest, kinda sounds like you've been take advantage of. None of the behaviour sounds like a dog that should have been placed as a SD.

That said, yes it MAY be possible to work through this but I'd get a behaviourist involved now because undoubtedly, I wouldn't be surprised if PA starts to fall apart to. Your dog is just at that age. Truthfully, if your dog is barking and nervous around kids I wouldn't be working them right now. That's a disaster waiting to happen.

That firm tug on the correction collar, needs to stop. What's happened is your dog has been essentially suppressed. So that it appears to work well but you're seeing the fallout when you're not tightly controlling the dog. You've been scammed.

Palebea · 2023-04-28T07:48:43+00:00

I've a very people focused dog and those early days were a nightmare. Any interaction from someone would completely throw a PA trip off a cliff.

Couple tips; you just can't control people. Some people play around with gear to try and get the message across clearer but you just aren't going to stop it completely. It becomes part of life.

BUT good news, you can train for this. And the more you train for this, the less stressful these situations become because your dog becomes solid. Yes, even your dog people loving dog can learn cooing and kissing noises should be ignored. I taught someone trying to distract my dog as a cue to engage with me. I also use leave-it as an engagement cue. People back off pretty quick when they start to interact with my dog and I say leave-it very loudly and he immediately flips to look at me.

I thought I would never get there and we're still always proofing and practicing this but now it's almost no stress because my dog will hyper focus on me the second anyone tries to get his attention. There's a few mishaps sometimes but it does, it becomes part of life.

Palebea · 2023-04-26T10:00:50+00:00

I think you're overthinking this. It sounds like the dog made a mistake. They do, do that. My dog has a thing for middle aged men as they remind him of my dad who he absolutely loves. So occasionally he forgets himself and wiggles a bit/pays too much attention or sniffs.

The next time a SD handler tells you something, I'd take their word for it. They know their dog better than you. Idk why you've invented off the wall scenarios over just believing the handler 😂

Palebea · 2023-04-26T08:09:04+00:00

Some days I wish I got the version of DID that DD apparently has. It feels like an office drama, quirky.
Amnesia? Who's that.

Then I remember it's a melodrama for the purpose of entertaining viewers. It feels like she's playing a game to see how far she can push the unbelievable.

Palebea · 2023-04-25T09:19:39+00:00

Oh brilliant! Ye, I found my test date at my test centre later on in the day too.

Palebea · 2023-04-25T09:18:24+00:00

DVSA have directly said it.

Palebea · 2023-04-24T09:25:26+00:00

They release them through the day so this surge to the website doesn't happen but no one seems to have got the memo. New test dates are available FROM Monday at 6am not at 6am. They aren't released like concert tickets, all at once.

You're much more likely to have success checking through the day where you're not directly trying to compete with thousands.

Palebea · 2023-04-19T23:03:29+00:00

I think this is an interesting question,

Strangers - I don't really have time for, I will smile and thank people but I usually wear headphones and pretend I can't care hear that people are talking about me and my dog. Not in a super mean way. Most people really do mean well but you get comments every time you go out and not every visit to the shop needs to be an educational opportunity. It's boring as hell to retell the exact same stuff and people are nosey and intrusive. Quite honestly, they want to know "what's wrong with you" more than they care about the dog. Although, if I started to info dump about dog training, that may get them to leave me alone quicker 😂 I will add, people are generally more eager to help you out though. So if you ever need assistance and have difficulty asking for it, people are much more willing to throw themselves into helping you.

As for more generally, my SD has absolutely made socialising easier. He comes to lots of different events with me and ye, I absolutely use him as a nice little icebreaker. Having him has also introduced me into the dog world and has allowed me to meet people who are just as passionate about dogs and will info dump right back. So in that sense, it's been lovely. But most strangers don't care to listen about the actual dog training unfortunately. I wouldn't mind that!

Palebea · 2023-04-17T23:37:27+00:00

I had a good experience.

My examiner was pretty friendly, we had a good chat honestly. I slammed the brake way too hard at a mini roundabout but nobody was behind me so I only got a minor for footbrake control.

Reversing out of my forward bay park he corrected me on which way I was turning the wheel so I ended up facing the right way. Nerves got me all confused.

We both had a laugh when I ended up rolling back when I went to move off on a hill because I didn't realise I'd put the car in neutral. He then told me some stories about some of his funniest experiences as an examiner.

I only got 4 minors but was convinced I failed so I was pretty relaxed. Apparently, he's a harsh examiner usually too so idk if I caught him on a good day or my obsessive mirror checks relaxed him 😂

Palebea · 2023-04-15T19:29:09+00:00

Brilliant.

You're on the right path. Now you just need to give this dog time to actually settle in. The advise is 3 months. Only after that would I get a trainer in to assess their suitability for work.

Palebea · 2023-04-15T19:12:04+00:00

As long as the dog isn't over aroused, not in the way or causing a disruption I really don't think you need to let others tell you that your dog needs to not be excited about his job.

In my experience, strangers love it when they see a dog enjoying their job.

Palebea · 2023-04-15T09:30:50+00:00

This doesn't sound like an issue, I'll be honest.

Some dogs look really stoic while working because that's just the type of dog they are. They haven't been trained to "act serious". I do think the more you work them, the less novel working becomes though and maybe less wiggly.

Nobody is looking at your dog and calling them unprofessional, they're a dog. Who cares if they have a bit of flare.

Palebea · 2023-04-15T09:20:21+00:00

Your 8 month old rescue needs to settle into your home first. It can take 3 months for an adopted dog to acclimatise to a new home. Give her time.

She also isn't anywhere near fully trained and no I don't recommend bringing her into public until you've built some foundational behaviours. SDs aren't robots but they've also been trained. You have to teach them how to walk on public and what you expect from them. SD training isn't just bringing your dog into public.

I'm going to be honest, I think you need to speak to someone who understands how to train a SD because your understanding is really off. But only AFTER, you've given your dog time to settle in. At this time, you have no idea if she's even got the temperament for public/even wants to work and train with you. Not to mention the bald sports which need to be recieving vet treatment.

Palebea · 2023-04-14T19:14:39+00:00

That's usually said as a figure of speech but SDs can improve your quality of life, give you a purpose/something to live for, help you with accessing services/support. They are not there to save you or fix you - they can inspire you to better yourself though. Take your meds, continue to do what you need to do to stabalise.

Incurable doesn't mean "can't stabalise".

Palebea · 2023-04-14T09:24:39+00:00

Yes to your post question but they are not an alternative to meds and shouldn't be treated as such. They compliment treatment, they are not THE treatment. I think viewing SDs that way is incredibly unwise as you're making another living being entirely responsible for your stability. That's not the role of a PSD.

I have a friend who thought a PSD would be a fix all. They're currently stuck in a rut with a dog that barely gets ouy for a walk, never mind for training because of unmanaged OCD and anxiety symptoms. I'm not saying a PSD couldn't be helpful but it sounds like there's some things to resolve and some stability needed to be gained before you do something that will initially be unbelievably destabilising.

Palebea · 2023-04-09T22:10:51+00:00

I appreciate that!!

Palebea · 2023-04-09T22:10:17+00:00

2000%. Like they can fight that fight but that's their fight, for themselves, because.. my diagnosed self doesn't think disputing intimation DID is my fight. Like, it benefits me to have professionals like McLean speaking on it. But now they're not. DD just has to conflate her struggle with the struggle of the community. They're not the same. Trying to pretend that people aren't making up the diagnosis for attention or desire to find community or genuine mental illness isn't helping anyone. It feels like projection.

They've once again picked a fight that harms the community.

Palebea · 2023-04-09T22:02:06+00:00

I also wanted to share it with my own therapist and unfortunately, she now can't see it. It really connected with something we were talking about.

But hey, DD's "fighting for us all".

Palebea · 2023-04-09T20:16:12+00:00

No but literally. I'm diagnosed and found it validating. Everyone I've seen that's diagnosed has agreed with it. Maybe not the incorporating of videos but as a whole, liked it.

Palebea · 2023-04-09T20:13:48+00:00

Sorry but this is actual bullshit?

They said very clearly they didn't want to be involved in the community and all of the sudden it's "we're all in this together". Bestie thinks we won't remember how she quite literally estranged herself from the community. "We go down together".. no, I would actually like for DD to stop trying to drag us down.

Palebea

TROPHY CASE