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Stella’s Breakthroughs

3K views 11 replies 7 participants last post by  jojogal001 
#1 ·
She is , my almost 7year old Poodle/Pom mix. I adopted her 4 weeks ago today. She has come so far, she is like a different dog! She is fitting perfectly into my little “family”.

When I got her, she would play non stop with her ball, and me, for at least 12 hours, I had told the previous owner I would teach her to take breaks during the day. I was told, “She’s not wired that way.”

3 days after I got her, she took her first break. An hour and a half! Now, we take many breaks throughout the day, and she stills plays with zeal and an energy beyond my comprehension, but she likes her breaks and she seems almost relieved to not have to play so strenuously for so long. I am happy too.

In her previous life, she slept in a crate... all night. There’s nothing wrong with that: I just like to have my dogs in bed with me. I played with her in the bed for a while, and last night, first time ever, she slept in the bed with us! That made me so happy!

Zekefur used to intimidate her as he showed his dominance to her... twice. She now is very comfortable with him. I am just waiting for them to play together as both Zeke and Dory have tried to entice her.

She was also free fed... past mom said she wouldn’t eat a whole meal. This was handled first, she happily eats just 2 meals a day now, and the few little treats I give throughout the day.

She is now in full bonding mode, as I with her. This is just melting my heart. My praise now mean something to her, and she listens to me much more. This too, makes me very happy.

I must say, when playing fetch, I am disabled and it’s hard for me to play long with trying to pick the ball up from the floor. She has learned to either drop it in the wastebasket, it’s all paper like things, or drop it in my chair, and even sometimes she will jump up on my lap and give it to me!

So instead of being a hyperactive dog with way too much energy, she is a playful dog who is quiet while the rest of us are.

At the beginning I didn’t know if I could keep up with her, or be returning her, but now, like I said, she is a different dog, and she is very happy.

Me too!





 
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#2 ·
Very nice work you've done with Stella. I think dogs like structure in their days and that they can end up being sort of OCD-ish when left to their own devices. "I have a ball but nobody plays with it so I am going to be a pest with it and play with it like crazy." You've taken that desire for interaction and orderliness and built a well structured and satisfying set of routines. Stella is cute with those big stand up ears and that pom tail!
 
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#5 ·
Wow, great job in recognizing and helping Stella change to a new improved behavior.
 
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#7 ·
I think that is a lot of progress in just four weeks- you’ve done great work! She is awful cute.
 
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#9 ·
Very nice! What a lovely post! A friend of mine who is a very experienced dog trainer - but now in her 80s taught me 3 dogs ago - never accept a retrieve unless it is directly in your hand. If you let them get away with throwing it on the floor and you have to pick it up - you will have to bend over a million times in the dog's life. I took that to heart and all my dogs now deliver a ball flawlessly to my hand (after all they want you to throw it again - so it has to be in your hand first). Seems to make perfect sense to them.
 
#10 ·
Thank you Moni. For now I am happy with her dropping it on my chair or in the wastebasket. She does either without fail, and that’s all I’ve ever taught Zeke to do. I may, someday, step that up, but I’m ok with how it is. Although what you said makes perfect sense to me too [emoji1]


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#11 ·
Little Stella is such an amazing dog! I can hear her over the phone when I talk with Jody and I could swear she is speaking to her in human words! Jody is a good friend and it’s wonderful to see her dogs flourish. I admire Jody’s patience and appreciate her ability to communicate with them verbally and non-verbally. [emoji177][emoji16]


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