Two Steps Forward, One Step Back

Feb. 6, 2009

With Deborah's guidance, we've added some new commands that are specific to helping Matthew deal with his morning transitions and his meltdowns. Kruiser is learning to wake up a person on command (and with a treat strategically placed on an ear.) He jumps onto the bed and then rummages for the treat and licks the ear and face. With a "get my clothes" command, he pulls clothes over from a pile I make the night before. Up to now, I've had to toss a shirt onto the pile first to trigger his retrieval instinct, but this morning he did it on command alone. For bedmaking, I have him pull at the bedcovers, though I don't know if we'll ever get it to be more than just an initiation of the process--I really doubt a dog has a mental contruct for a "made up" bed. I have him lie next to me when I playact a mild meltdown, and after his first few very worried nuzzle responses, he now mostly stays beside me passively. He sits by the cupboard where we keep Pat's thyroid meds when I say "time for your meds, Pat," (an easy one to teach since we've usually let Kruiser lick the knife or spoon after Pat takes most of the peanut butter and pill anyway.) And finally Kruiser comes and sits by me as I wash my face and brush my teeth. This morning I was in a rush and forgot to prompt him, but he still did it. In all these new commands he's an A, number one, star pupil.

But...last weekend up in the mountains and on Monday, he bolted out of the car or pulled the leash out from under my foot or slipped out of his collar to go say hi to other dogs, and this week there have been two occasions when he really wouldn't keep a down/stay. He was good at yoga, the eye doctor's, the grocery store, a bookstore, the pet store, and a restaurant, but in my pottery class he wouldn't stay under the table in a down for more than 10 minutes. Then last night after being perfect at Tokyo Joe's and Barnes and Noble, he refused to lie down at the movie theater. When I finally got him down, he was right back up, just like in pottery class. He was so restless that I finally took him outside to be sure he didn't need to go to the bathroom. He "performed" but not with any urgency and was only marginally better when we went back inside.

So today, with trepidation, I made a prearranged visit to a third grade classroom with him. He was wonderful--responsive to the kids but not overexcited, listened to me, relaxed when he lay down to hear some of the kids read, and kept a down/stay. What a relief! A classroom setting might the most important place for him to handle well for Matthew's sake. I plan to take him back next week during science when the class is more active and maybe try a recess as well.

I wish I could get inside Kruiser's head to figure out why some places work so well and others don't. Are we taking him too many places? Does he not like the darkness of being under the table or in a movie theatre? I'll just have to keep trying different venues and different strategies. As for the bolting, I need to set up situations where I can remind him that it's not okay to lunge to say hello, but most of all I need to be more vigilant myself--remember to shut the car door, don't expect snow to prevent the leash from slipping away, don't be adjusting his collar when another dog is chasing a frisbee nearby. For that, I'm the one who has to be the better pupil.