Mandy is doing well. The peanut butter thing is a charm. Tomorrow she gets a bigger Kong and a some other yummy substances for it.

My day started earlier than usual and ran later than expected. I was prepared for an accident somewhere in the house. I haven’t found it…yet. She didn’t bark when I came in the door. She did bark, however, when I pulled up. She’s just excited.

I’m sure the neighbours were outside today. I’ll ask tomorrow for an update on the noise level inside my house.

The walk was a little pully again. I noticed she barks at motorcycles, bicycles, diesel engines, buses, the odd minivan and some runners. I can’t determine the significant qualifying factor that’s common among this group of agitants.  

Retraining Day 5:  Barking contained in the house when I’m home.

It worked again! One bark and then she was back to it. I froze it this time so she was busy for a while no doubt. I’m afraid she’ll develop an allergy to the peanut butter if I give it to her everyday. Maybe I’ll try putting some mashed banana in the Kong. I think she still likes bananas. She likes them well enough when I’m eating one. 

She barked and spun in circles when I ran to the kids because one of them was coughing. Once I knew my son was ok, I put Mandy under calm control and she chilled out. That was good practice.

I was out tonight and when I came home she didn’t bark at all. I think the sitter may have been holding her back though, so that’s not fair. I praised her up big time anyway.

Day 4:  Still working on calm control. Barking manageable when home. Nothing soiled or destroyed. 

This morning it was just Mandy and I so the routine was a bit calmer. I put peanut butter in her Kong and slipped out. No barking. Seems like a good trick, but I can’t say what happened when she found me missing.

Everything was intact when I arrived home. She’s hard to handle and doesn’t listen so well when she’s excited. None of us do, I guess. We took her for a walk and tried a game of fetch. She wasn’t interested in the toy she was fetching and found a piece of wood she liked better. The fetching was better with this, but she’s still not returing to me like the fetch rules say. We’ll keep working at it.

I’ll try the peanut butter trick again tomorrow. I want to play tug of war, but I can’t find her rope anywhere. I think she’s hidden it. Silly girl.

Day 3 retraining:  no barking, nothing destroyed, a little hard to settle down, fetching needs practice, barking still controllable when I’m home.

This morning we shovelled and Mandy barked. So I brought her outside with us and got her to sit and stay on the step. She was exceptional. She broke her stay when I retrieved  the garbage bins, but she quickly returned when I pointed to her. I was seriously impressed. She usually takes the opportunity to scavenge at the neighbors, which has had unpleasant results.

Of course, when I left she barked. I’m not sure how she did all day, but there’s no “For Sale” signs on my neighbors’ lawns, so I’m guessing they are not completely annoyed yet. Actually, I’m pretty sure she spent the day in my bed…which is what I would have done given the choice. No messes when I arrived home. But she’s hard to calm down after being alone all day. She’s so glad to see her Mommy.

Our walk was a little pully, but pleasant. She reminds me that to a dog a walk isn’t just exercise, it’s exploring time and sniffing is a necessity. I give her grace and she appreciates it. This activity doesn’t do much for my cardiovascular necessities but it’s all about Mandy these days.

I think I’m going to try the fetch game outside. Before Doglogic Mandy would fetch and run away. Extracting the ball from her mouth was an act of wit and bravery. I now know what she’s thinking so I can anticipate and correct her. I’m going to practice with her right now. NB:  we’ll practice a bit more in the house.

Day 2 retraining – Carpets ok. Barking minimized when home. No new stains.   

Yesterday an excellent dog behavourist made a housecall. I gained a lot of knowledge about my dog’s brain. Turns out 8 year old Mandy is exceptionally bright and I’ve done a good job teaching her the basic commands. She loves to work for “good girls” and neck rubs and this will come in handy as we move forward. It’s not going to be easy, however, to subdue her nasty barking habit—sadly a byproduct of her anxiety.

In an effort to ease her anxiety over being left alone, I bought and installed a wooden gate. This way she could still see the front door but remain confined to her warm, cozy basement abode.  As I was getting everyone into the car, my five year old came yelling. “Come see this Mom, it’s really cool. Mandy can jump right over the gate.” I moved the gate up a couple of steps. She make the leap effortlessly. I then moved the gate to the top of the steps. Check. She appeared contained so I left.

When I arrived at work I realized the gate to the main floor was also closed. This meant that if she did jump the new gate, she would be stuck on the stairwell between floors. No water and no toys, save for about 20 pair of shoes and a lace window treatment on my front door. I called for backup patrol. She had in fact jumped the gate and was a happy prisoner amid the risers.

For her safety, the upstairs gate was opened. Ironically, the same gate that was meant to keep her in the basement was now restricting her from roaming there. Checkmate. Did I mention Mandy is extremely smart?

On my way home I planned my next opportunity to return my latest purchase. At home I discovered that before she jumped the new $20 gate, she actually attempted to chew her way through it. Wooden splinters filled the foyer. I’m the proud owner of a slightly usable gate. 

And after our walk I also noticed a nice little brown package on the newly patched carpet. Thanks Mandy you’ve saved me a trip to Wal-Mart Customer Service and blended the new carpet nicely with the old.

Day 1 of retraining. Commands are going well. Barking under control when I’m home. Human interventions are failing.