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Chapter Three We are now starting our third week in the new classes. Dixie is doing her basic routines good. At home in practice she dose real good but she still get distracted in class and doesn’t do as good as she can. She still won’t stand for exam, she’ll stand ok, but when the instructor reaches out to her she will take a treat but if he move his hand wrong she will snap. Last week she did the nightmare come true and she Bit him on the hand and there was Blood. He did try to quickly put a hand on her while she wasn’t looking. I saw her lung and him look at his hand but from 3ft away I didn’t see any blood. That about as embarrassing as it get, I thought we were though with training in class. The instructor was kind to us, even though he had said in the past if she ever did that we were Done, he said he would see us next week, he just wouldn’t touch her for stand for exam. She’s slow to learn this, but he’s not. Today the instructor call and said at the instructor meeting they had discussed Dixie and her problem and the school has decided that the liability is to great so for Dixie to continue her training, and she can only come to class if she wears a muzzle. How sad for her, I got one and tried it on her, she not sure she like it yet. I guess I’ll put it on her for short periods each day to help her get to feel better about it. It best at this time if we want to keep on with her training and I do. I just wish I could find a way to help her get over her aggression towards strangers. I had hope by now to find a school or person who offers behavior modification that I’ve read about. It been two more week of classes with the muzzle and she can’t bite anyone, but she still doesn’t want anyone touching her for stand for exam. What to do, What to do. Once again today I was told that it looks like I’m at the end of the trail as far as doing anything but having a fairly good pet. The instructor did give me a name of a lady who breeds and trains Border Collie Champions. He had talked to her and she had said to have me call, she might can help, I’ll do that to day. I Talked to the Border Collie lady to day and she is going to have us come in for an evaluation and first conference next week.
We’re back from the canine
Psychotherapist visit to day and thing went well. She was really
nice and I thought sounded like she really new what she was talking
about. She knew what I was going to say before I would say it. She
knew Border Collie and you would have thought she knew Dixie. Fear
Aggression is the problem and she has just developed it because when
she fell threatened or the Flight or Fight feeling that aggression
has work in the pass to stop the threat and this is the behavior
modification they we’ll will be working on. She says it well take
time, but Dixie is not yet as bad as
The last day of class is here, it test time. Dixie came thru for me, today she did good in all her exercises and passing the class with no problem. With the exception of her stand for exam and she did her thing. But they felt she had improved so much she will be going on to Novice II. They didn’t feel she would pass Novice II because she will have to stand for exam. I think they just feel that I had spent so much time with her ( 39 weeks with out missing a class) and said most people would have had her put down because of her aggression toward others, that they just wanted to give us a chance to try. If she keep improving as she has it could happen with a small miracle and a lot of luck. So we signed her up and will start Novice II in the next 2 weeks. With a new instructor, a Lady this time. That may help so we will see in about 10 more week. I guess she’ll have to keep wearing her muzzle for now. Dixie liked our outing today. I took her to a place where they were giving Sheep Herding Instinct test to dogs to see if they could go to Herding school. I had tried to get her entered but the people were to slow to answer my phone calls the weeks before and it was too late. They did invite us to come and watch. At first Dixie just walked around smelling the grass and people, she has never been on a farm before. We found a place to sit near the pens where they were testing. She didn’t at first pay any attention to the sheep in the pen, but once the trials begin and the dogs started to move the sheep around she went from laying next to me to sitting up, ear perked, and watch the action. She soon was wanting to help out. As the sheep came by our side of the pen, she would jump up and start to run toward them like she was going to turn them back toward the other dog in the pen. I found the other people we meet were to be very nice to talk to and they all knew Dogs. They were nothing like some of the people at the Training Club we have been going to. The must be a different between Dog Show people and Working Dog people. They all could till just by looking at Dixie, she was young, a Border Collie, and that she might have problems with strangers. But in spite of that many of them came over to meet her and new the best way to approach her. Just like stand for exam, she did snap at two or three of them, but they were expecting it and the rest of the afternoon they would come by and try again, she did get better around them. One lady who sat next to us got to where she was feeding her treats and talking to her. Another man who had a lot of pass
I received a call from a lady I had left word with about looking into Search and Rescue Dogs here in Oklahoma. After we talked a little she wanted to meet with me and set up a time when she could see Dixie to see if she felt Dixie had the Right Stuff to start training. I felt this might be something Dixie would like to do and would be a rewarding way to volunteer one’s time to help others. I wasn’t able to meet with her this week because I was working at Camp Gruber for the Red Cross with victims from the Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans.
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she
could get or other dogs she has worked with. But the problem must be
dealt with now or it well be a real big problem to overcome. She
gave me hope and we’re ready to get started. She gave me some thing
to do both at home and in class. She is going to talk to my
instructor on what he can do to help. She didn’t think at this time
I would need anything else but time to solve the problem. If needed
she would be available for private lessons. This would cost more
money, But hay, you can’t put a price on love. It now week 10 and
today was practice Test day for the last class next week for Novice
I. Dixie did as expected Pass 6 of the 7 test. Yep she failed the
Stand for Exam. She stood and she stays, but when the Judge got came
when in a foot away she jump forward and snap at him. I now have 7
Day to get her to not to, I have a plan we’ll see if it works, we
would love to pass the class and go on to Novice II and keep her
education on go. I did notice today we are now to five dogs out of
the 12 that started just like my last class. 
experience
with rescue dogs keep come by just to check her out and says she can
over come, that always good news to hear. He would bring his Border
Collie by from time to time although I hadn’t noticed him. He said 6
foot away and Dixie didn’t pay any attention, at 4 Foot it became
border line. Everyone there were really nice to my Wife, Dixie, and
me. One gave us their phone number and E-mail address and said they
would like to see Dixie again at her home or our. I going to ask her
for some other events we might go to and watch. The day dose have me
thinking. Dixie’s Novice II classes start next week.
