Calm Behavior During Grooming

If you've been following along in our blog, you know that Vinny has always gotten overstimulated by petting and grooming activities.  Trying to groom him, and often just pet him sweetly, results in him turning to mouth my hand and grooming tools.  If I continue, the mouthing gets more intense and he begins to also move his body around more.  If I continue still, he also becomes vocal and then ... well, it's all over.  

He had gotten so much better until about 3 weeks ago.  He's 5 months old now and his behaviors appear to be reverting backwards in a few areas, but they are now more intense than when he was smaller because he is now a much bigger boy!  

Vinny is now well aware of his marker (clicker) signal, and that it is followed by a reinforcer for certain behaviors.  He knows that his behaviors can drive that marker.  

I have been working with him by reinforcing calm behaviors when I touch, pet and groom him.  I started with just touching him - this was a review for him, but I wanted to start in an area that he could be successful.  I touched him calmly and then followed by giving him a treat.  I allowed him to feel the touch first, before the food appeared, and I fed him the food straight ahead of his nose with his nose facing forward and not at my touching hand.  By reinforcing him with his head away from the hand that was touching him, he did not have the opportunity to begin mouthing me, and he will learn to keep his face away from the hand petting or grooming him (eventually).  

After reviewing this a few times, I moved on to stroking or scratching him lightly just for a moment before feeding.  I was still not using a marker signal at this point because I needed both hands - one to touch and one to have that treat ready super quick by his nose.  When I saw that he was making the choice to turn his head forward for the treat when he felt me petting him, I moved on.  

Adding a second stroke or longer scratching with one hand while I continued to feed treats was the next step.  Only for a short period of time at first and then gradually building up to longer periods of time.  At first I fed treats one right after the other quickly.  But it didn't take long to be able to space out those treats more and more and build up the duration of the stroking.  As I can spread the treats out a bit, I can then begin using the marker signal to pinpoint calm behaviors.  

Now I have progressed to stroking with grooming tools.  I can do several strokes at a time with Vinny remaining in place and calm (no mouthing or vocalizing, and sitting or standing still) between marking appropriate behaviors.  If he gets up and walks away, that is ok.  It is his choice.  He will come back if he wants to do more.  If he moves away, that is ok too.  I just stop and wait.  He will come back closer when he's ready.  

I do allow him to turn and investigate a touch with my hand or the grooming tool, and I allow him to sniff the grooming tools before touching him with them so he knows what I'm going to be doing.  After only a few sessions, I am so pleased and already seeing a big change in his behaviors.

This is good because his big-boy Collie coat is starting to come in and will require a lot of grooming in the future.  I am so pleased that I can create choices for Vinny so he can be a willing participant in his grooming and care.  

This video was taken today - I tried to groom him before our training session so maybe I could get a video of his previous behavior for you - but he sat still like a champ waiting for his reinforcers.  And, so, what you see is not the flailing, mouthing and yelling that was his normal grooming behavior.  This is our 3rd session and you can see he is attentively waiting for his marker and reward.  When he moves as if he is uncomfortable, I don't force him.  I wait or move to groom a different spot for a moment.  When I groom his body, which we've worked on more, I can groom longer before reinforcing.  When I work with his ear and his tail or rear of his body, which we have not worked on specifically, I sometimes only swipe a couple times before rewarding.  

This is a session in its entirety.  The only part cut in the middle was when I had to go check on something in the middle.  It is a bit long (8 minutes appx.) but you can see in real time, how often I am reinforcing still and how he is responding.  When you see him startle and move his head around, he is responding to his marker signal and is waiting for the food!  

Affecting Change

I wrote this post several months ago, and kept it as a draft - why I was not ready to post it yet I don't know. But when I looked back on it, I noticed something very interesting - I had written it on the day that Vinny, my current foster puppy, was born.  I had no idea at the time that two little double merle puppies had been born that day and I would be instrumental in their lives.  And so, due to this coincidence (or not!), I am ready to post this now ...

When there's something we are truly passionate about, it's easy to get carried away and to push hard for others to see our way of thinking.  We may end up getting angry and going after the other person in a way that we hope will intimidate them to change to our perspective.  But I have seen this scenario enough times to know that it rarely, if ever, works that way.  Anyone who has been on the receiving end of such a situation knows that the first reaction is to feel you are being attacked, and then the natural thing to do is to fight back. Very quickly things get out of control with words being slung around that are hurtful and alienating, and neither party actually accomplishes anything except to cement the idea that they are right even further into their mind. 

Those of you who read this blog already know that I am very passionate about educating people about the issues with merle to merle breeding and why it should not be done.  While I love my double merles and wouldn't change them, I could also love them just as much if they could see and hear normally, and no matter what color they were.  My favorite slogan is, "Until there are none, rescue one!"  Until there are no more double merles, I will continue to educate and to rescue.  

Tonight I am sad.  But I am hopeful.  You see, I initiated an online conversation with a breeder who is utilizing a double merle in a breeding program.  Out of surprise and sadness mostly.  Certainly not to attack this person, but more to express my sadness and concern.  Although I didn't initiate contact to place blame or as an attack, I sort of expected to get a nasty, defensive answer in return, as is often the result of such communications.  Instead I was pleasantly surprised that this breeder and I, with very different views, were able to have a lengthy conversation.  

Our views about our dogs were very similar.  We both love our dogs and enjoy participating in dog sports with them.  We discussed new rule changes in competition.  We discussed the good that this breeder is doing with the current dogs that he/she is working with - training, showing, therapy work.  

Our views about breeding were different.  Our views about breeding were discussed, but calmly, with no word slinging or accusations.  We both heard the other's opinions and perspectives.  Did we end up agreeing with each other on these?  No, but we both felt heard.  And neither of us felt attacked or defensive. 

This is the place where understanding and change can begin to occur.  We cannot think or consider or make decisions when we are attacking or being attacked.  We can't hear another's viewpoint and try to understand their perspective.  Without understanding, how can we affect change?  

It upsets me when people are nasty to each other in the name of change. How can we change if we don't know there is another way?  How can we change if we don't see another way that we feel might be right? When we are educating, it's important to model for people that there is a different way.  We cannot ever make someone else change.  That desire to change has to come from within themselves.  But we can model for them, and we can talk to them about different possibilities.

Remember, though, that each of us starts from wherever we are.  Whatever that person's perspective is, that is where they are. That is what they feel is right, and we all will defend what we feel is right.  As we show people that there are other ways of seeing things and other ways of doing things, they will realize that now there are choices.  Will they choose to change to one of those other options?  Maybe.  Or maybe not.  That is out of our control.  

If the other options we offer them are confrontational or embarrassing, will they be likely to choose them? Probably not.  If the options we offer them to think about are gentle and understanding and forgiving, they will be more likely to go away thinking about them, and more likely to choose them when they decide to make a change.  

Please be kind when you educate.  Remember that you once didn't know these things either.  You had to learn and make a choice too.  Listen to the other person's perspective and remember that is where they are right now and what they feel is right.  Try to understand why they feel that way.  If you can relate something you are trying to teach to something they already can relate to, it will be an easier jump for them to understand and think about. 

Change is not easy, and it does not happen all in one large, all or nothing swoop.  Change comes in stages. Trying to get all at once change is not going to end well.  Allowing change to happen as perspectives change and choices are made, can lead to lasting change, a new person out there educating in line with your perspective now, and possibly a new friend.  Be forgiving of mistakes or back sliding.  Remember this is a process.  It's hard to change our old habits and ways of thinking.  

Just Sitting There

"Oh wow.  I guess I thought he would just be sitting there, doing nothing, a lot of the time."  This is how many people perceive what a blind and deaf dog's day must be like.  Sitting alone in their darkness, nothing to see, nothing to hear, nothing to do, just waiting for me to move them around or feed them.  Otherwise, just sitting there.  Is it any wonder if people have this perception that they question what quality of life my dogs can have?

However, a perception of how things are is not necessarily the reality of how it actually is.  Looking out over a calm pond, our perception is one of stillness and quiet. But what is going on underneath the surface?  Are there fish, toads and turtles swimming and playing and eating?  Are they communicating with each other in their own language that we do not notice?  There is a lot going on in pond culture under the surface of what we see - our perception.  Each being has its own reality of a situation based on its own perception.  The fish will perceive the pond culture in a different reality than the toad, than the turtle, than a human.  

If we only look at the surface, we see a very limited view of what the reality may be.  When we can look below the surface and open our minds to what another's perception may be, a whole new world of possibilities is opened up to us. 

Below the surface of a dog just sitting alone in darkness and silence, what is lurking for us to discover?  In experiencing life from my blind and deaf dogs' perspectives, I know their lives are rich with movement and information at every moment.  It fascinates me - the world they live in, as I can only imagine it.  I'm sure my imagination does not do it justice.

An air current to me may feel like a draft or a welcome breeze, or even an irritant if it blows my papers to the floor.  An air current to my dogs carries a wealth of information.  Someone may have passed by and in a certain direction and at a certain speed.  A door or window opened somewhere in the house and may signal someone arriving or leaving.  The air conditioner or fan may have come on or turned off.  Someone may be calling to wake them up or get their attention.   

Changes in air pressure and how the air moves may signal a piece of furniture or a tree is near and they should slow down or curve away.  And along with these changes in air current or pressure, also come a multitude of smells.  Each thing that we notice with our eyes must have a different smell to a dog.  Think of how many items they come in contact with in a day.  And smells traveling on the air, inside and outside - quite a buffet to behold!  Each being in the home has its own distinct smell.  I believe there are unique smells to different emotions and moods as well.  So many things they may not be able to see with their eyes, but their nose knows!  

A vibration to me may mean a large truck is going by outside.  But think about every noise you hear in a day - some we learn to tune out because they don't concern us, some we have come to learn are very important to us.  What do the noises you hear every day signal to you?  

Each of those noises has a vibration - that is how we hear it and recognize it.  Dogs can notice those vibrations too, even if they can't hear them in the same sense as most of us can.  They most certainly learn to tune out the many that don't have significance to them.  Very quickly, however, they learn the ones that do have significance in their daily lives!  (This is what often causes us to second guess whether a dog that we know is deaf just heard that noise it appeared to respond to!  It was responding to the vibration it has learned is significant.)

Have you ever played the party game where you had to stick your hand into a small hole in a box and figure out what item was inside just by touching it?  It's often harder than it appears to be, because we do rely so much on our sight in our daily lives that we are not consciously aware of how each item feels that we interact with.  Blind and deaf dogs rely a lot on their sense of touch.  Not just for when they touch us or we touch them, but in everything they do.  

It's possible for them to easily map out environments that they use every day.  Even outside, in a yard that appears to us to just be grass, the dogs can tell where in the yard they are.  They map out little dips in the yard, or small slopes, and various smells so they know exactly where they are.  They use surface changes such as mulch, dirt, gravel, brick, and grass, to create their map.  They enjoy the softness of a dog bed or blanket, or the cool firmness of a tile floor.  They know which piece of furniture they are brushing past.  

And these things just brush the surface of what our dogs are aware of.  There is so much to discover beneath the surface of our perception.  

It's easy to form our own judgments about others or about circumstances based on our own perception. That's normal.  It's how we interact with our world.  It takes a bit more effort to open our minds to learning about someone else's perception.  But imagine the possibilities of what you can learn?  

Our perception of what a blind and deaf dog might experience may lead us to put limits on what they can and will accomplish.  If we think they will just sit there, how much of a chance will we give them to do otherwise? Don't let your perception of another create limits in your thinking - or in their potential.  

Playing Fetch? With a Blind and Deaf Dog?

Vinny's latest growth spurt seems to have slowed down a little bit.  For the past several weeks, he has really shot up!  He continues to enjoy learning new things and meeting new people and situations with confidence.

He has mastered lying upside down in my lap to have all of his nails trimmed, as well as having his pads trimmed with an electric clipper.  Collies have long hair that grows between their pads and keeping it trimmed ensures that his feet grow properly, he won't slip on slick surfaces, the house stays cleaner, and that he can feel various surfaces clearly, which is essential for him when he is making his way around in the world. He can tell where he is by changes in surfaces and textures.

Interestingly, however, his behavior while being brushed still leaves a lot of room for improvement!  He wiggles and wiggles.  Somehow we manage to keep him looking brushed and presentable, and he certainly does better than he did in the beginning.  It is a work in progress.

Vinny has learned a tactile marker signal (a clicker touch cue) and I'm looking forward to doing some shaping exercises with him in the future.  He gets so excited for food and gets frantic for it, so he cannot control himself or think very well when food first appears.  Sometimes he still looks back at his shoulders when I touch him.  I want him to focus ahead of him where the food will appear and not become frantic looking all over for it.  We are getting close to that point.  I don't want to start shaping until he truly understands where the food will appear.  

Lessons consist of sit, down, spin both directions, roll over, shake hands, and heel position by my left leg. Self control is an ongoing lesson and I am seeing gradual progress.  Vinny often offers sits on his own now for petting, coming out of his crate and food.  By VERY gradually prolonging those, he is learning some self control.  I have to be careful though, because he can be sitting expecting something without me noticing and he can't see that I'm not paying attention.  So, he sits patiently, and he may not get his reward.  

Our favorite game to play together is fetch.  Yes, Virginia, blind and deaf dogs can learn to play fetch!  The very first blind/deaf dog I ever trained taught me this.  She was amazing and loved her toy.  She would race out to smell the grass until she found it and come bounding back in my direction once she found it.  Vinny is not quite that advanced in the game yet.  But if I touch him with the toy and allow him to feel the direction I toss it, he knows to head in that direction and will sniff it out (only about a foot away from him at this point). Once he picks it up, he joyfully comes bouncing back to me with it.  If I'm not careful he will bounce right into my face if I'm sitting on the floor!  He is so happy to get back to me with it and we have a little game of petting and light tugging before I toss it again.  

Vinny's biggest adventure this past week was learning to ride in Treasure's stroller for the Fair Parade. Right now he is still small enough to fit in it, but barely.  He had to learn to remain in the stroller and not try to jump out.  The pavement was too hot for him to walk, and he is getting too big to carry now.  He did great!  There were so many interesting smells - all the farm animals, horses up close, other dogs, people, food!  So many children ran up to pet him as we walked by.  I was very proud of him.  But by the end of the parade, he was one tired pup!

 

An Extraordinary Sense?

Sometimes people ask me if my blind and deaf dogs' sense of smell is more highly developed than that of other dogs.  I'm not sure how to answer that question, because a dog's sense of smell is already so much more developed than yours and mine.  There is really no way for me to measure that sense of smell against my other dogs that can see and hear.  I don't notice that it's any more developed, just that they do rely on it more than the others seem to.  

I am always amazed, however, that my blind and deaf dog is sometimes the first dog to react when I come home.  Even though she's in a room behind a closed door.  How does she know that I'm home?  Even though I don't notice it, the floor boards creak in a certain way, and the door closing as I come into the house does create a vibration.  But sometimes I think it's something so much more than these things that she is noticing.  Is she reacting to my energy coming into the house?  Could she be noticing that energy before I am even close enough for her to smell me?  Or to feel the floor vibrating?  There is a lot of really cool research out there that goes into this more in depth - how we know instinctively what others are doing, feeling, etc. through a connection of energy.  I see it every day and I know it's true.

I don't know how many times I have felt sure that Treasure could see or hear something based on her reactions at the perfect time.  In the beginning of our time together, I would set up little trials to see if I could get her to react to the same noises or situations again.  But I was always disappointed.  Her reactions seem to be strictly coincidence in those circumstances - but are they?  There is no way for me to know exactly what my dogs sense or how.  

When I adopted Treasure, she was already almost 4 years old.  She had already learned to use the senses that she had to react to her world.  Her senses have always amazed me.  

Yet, it is interesting to me watching Vinny, from a very young puppy, learning to use and hone his senses. His first month here, he was very accident prone, as his balance was not developed.  I know that our sense of sight and our inner ear are important to developing our sense of balance, and I've been told by people who are hearing impaired that their balance is affected as well. Most puppies are a bit clumsy on their feet, but Vinny seemed to be exceptionally so.  Now he is growing into a more balanced puppy who is more sure-footed.  

As a seven week old puppy, he could not sniff out individual treats or toys and pinpoint where they were.  Now he is an expert at finding whatever it is that he wants to find!  And it's not just his sense of smell that is becoming more expert.  He has some of that extraordinary sense going on too.  

It's almost scary how good he's getting at perceiving things!  Sometimes he faces something in space and waits, almost as if he is watching it with his eyes, and then he pounces right on it - a toy, a dog bed, another dog, me, ... But when I test out his eyesight again, he doesn't seem to see or track anything.  Of course, other times, he does a totally adorable pounce into nothingness which always makes me smile. But more often than not, he hits his mark right on now, and I think he will continue to get better with practice.  

He knows things.  Like when I walk in the room and he is in his crate or pen across the room.  Yet he always knows.  He knows when I am there to open his crate even if I've been in the room near him already.  He's not hearing anything or feeling any vibration because I haven't done anything yet, I'm just right there ready.  I know he's probably smelling me, but he isn't visibly scenting.  I think there's more to it than that.  He is just learning how to know.  

On our walks, Vinny is becoming expert at knowing where my leg (or especially between my legs) is so he can touch me to touch base.  More often than not, he comes running and will squeeze right between my legs and stop to wait for a scratch.  Yet he will still run right into a tree or something else in his path.  He can track me on our walks and if he falls behind, he can catch up real quick!  He is always on a leash or a long line for safety reasons, but I like to give him the freedom of the whole line so he can run and explore where it is safe.  

His mapping skills continue to expand. He now can trot from the bedroom, down the hall, through the kitchen in the exact arc that will take him from the hall to the steps heading to the outdoors.  He will stop directly at the top of the steps within a couple inches, quickly find the steps, head down, and then knows the turns and how many steps to take where to get to the back door.  He searches out surfaces in the yard and once there knows exactly how many steps until he gets to the next surface or the door back to the house.  He knows the way home from our walks as we start to get close to the house and will take off out in front until he leads me home to the door.  

He has maps for work days when we go out the side door, to the grass to potty and then back across the parking lot to the car.  And maps for once we get to work, from the car, to the grass, to the building and to the office where his pen is.  From the pen to the front outside for potty breaks.  

Of interest to me is that I started teaching Vinny some tricks involving using his paw.  The very next day, I noticed him beginning to use his paws to gather information about more than just surfaces.  He will sit waiting to be let out of his crate and he will put his paw on the crate door so he can feel the door open and knows when he can come out.  He is not scratching at the door, just sitting calmly with his paw resting on the crate door.  He is using his paw now to feel for another dog now as they are playing so he knows where it is and can pounce more accurately.  

I am enjoying watching Vinny's senses develop and seeing how he chooses to use them.  Giving him so many new and varied experiences is allowing him to learn more confidence in his abilities and how to use his senses in many ways.  Allowing him the freedom to explore and learn as much as possible is important for his brain as it grows and develops.  And being aware of energy and how it connects us to each other has given me a unique perspective into his extraordinary senses.  Yet, even though I know what a blind and deaf dog is capable of, it still continues to amaze me in the most incredible ways.  

Group Dynamics

Part of being a puppy is learning where and how you fit in with the humans and other animals in a household. And part of bringing home a new puppy is that the people and animals learn how this new being fits in. Sometimes, this can be a difficult lesson - such as when adorable puppy noses get snapped at by older dogs who are trying to teach some manners.  Vinny has had a couple of those during his time here.  

Treasure has her own way of communicating that she would like the dog bed now.
Vinny did take his bone and move out of the bed right after this was taken.  

It's normal for adult dogs to discipline puppies at times - this is how puppies learn.  But it's harder when that puppy is blind and deaf.  Harder for the puppy, and harder for the adult dog.  Dogs give a lot of signals before they snap - signals that say stop that or go away.  They may give a hard stare or lift a lip, or they may growl.  A blind and deaf puppy cannot read these signals accurately and so will usually keep doing the behavior that the adult dog doesn't like, which then results in a snap.  It can take some time for an adult dog to learn how to communicate differently with a blind and deaf dog too.  

Thankfully my dogs are well-versed in this already, but to them, it seems to be case-specific.  They treat the other blind and deaf dogs differently, but this did not carry over to Vinny.  Now they are beginning to learn that he too, requires special treatment.  By this, I mean, they are starting to realize that if they growl or lift a lip while chewing their favorite bone, he is not going to respond.  So, they now are picking up their bone and moving to where he can't get them with it.  This is the behavior they do with the other blind and deaf dogs.

Of course, I have tried to keep a close eye on them when they are together and want the adults to have some time away from worrying about a puppy, but still there are times when something needs to be said by the adult dogs.  

Adult dogs can play a bit rough for a puppy, and so there is learning about just how much is enough to keep the game going.  Too rough, and the puppy stops and leaves the game, or the human steps in to referee.  Just the right amount of tumbling without getting too rough allows the game to continue indefinitely.  Just this past week, my rougher players are figuring out the perfect balance with Vinny.  And my shy one is beginning to get in on the play also.  

Playing with puppies that can see is different for dogs than playing with dogs that can't see.  If they bounce or run away from a blind puppy, inviting a chase, the game just isn't as fun, since the blind puppy can't see which way they went.  But they learn to play close by, inviting contact by touching or poking to let the blind puppy know where they are - also a tactic to keep the game going. 

There is more learning to be done - learning that play with humans must be different than play with other dogs!  Vinny likes to pounce on me and bite my skin and clothes, and those puppy teeth hurt!  Sometimes I think he thinks I am one of the dogs and if I happen to be nearby he pounces and gets me instead.  But often he just gets excited playing and can't stop.  He is learning that human skin is for being gentle with.  I am careful to only play with him with toys, and it's important to use toys that are longer when playing with blind puppies - give them plenty of room to grab the toy without grabbing your hand, since they can't see where your hand stops and the toy begins.  I don't want him to think that my hands are play things.  My  hands always touch him gently and give him soft and calm touching so he can learn the difference.  

It is working.  I don't correct him for biting me in any way.  Using his mouth is one of the few senses he has to learn about his world.  I don't want him to stop using his mouth.  I want him to learn how to use it gently. If he learns to use it gently, then one day when he grabs my hand instead of the toy, he will immediately loosen his grip and be gentle.  Or, the day that he bites down too hard for a piece of food and gets my finger, he will immediately know the difference and will become gentle. This is an important lesson for any puppy to learn. By being consistent with  my examples to him when to play and when to be gentle, simply by how I interact with him, he is learning what is expected.  

He has progressed to the point that when he is getting too excited at playtime, I can scoop him up into my lap for a moment, and just by my hands touching him gently, he can calm himself for a moment. And then I can let him go play again.  

Vinny's Rule of Twelve

Have you heard of the Puppy's Rule of Twelve, by Margaret Hughes?  It is an adaptation of Pat Schaap's Rule of 7's.  It is a checklist of categories, and within each category, the idea is to expose your puppy to 12 different things in each category by the time he's 12 weeks old.

Vinny is 12 weeks old now.  Let's see how I did exposing him to the various categories so far.  Of course, this doesn't end once you complete the list.  Puppies need to be exposed to many different things for their entire puppyhood, and then on into adulthood.

Vinny's Rule of Twelve

12 different surfaces:  grass, gravel, dirt, carpet, tile, linoleum, wet grass, mud, puddles, uneven surfaces, rubber matting, wading pool, plastic tarp, foam cushion, dog bed, ball pit, metal grate, plastic, metal - 19

12 different objects:  cardboard, wood, balls, tug toys, rubber, feathers, plastic bottle, stuffed toys, metal bowls, squeaky toys, bones, wire crate, plastic crate - 13

12 different locations:  office, car rides, play yards, back yard, walks, front of office, gym of office, cat room, basement, steps, side yard, driveway, vet's office - 13

12 new people:  LOTS of people, children, men, women, at office, at home, in yard on walks - many more than 12!

12 different noises:  thunder, fireworks, vacuum, squawky bird, clapping, barking, phone ringing, washing machine, dishwasher, traffic, motorcycles, dryer - 12 even though he doesn't hear noises, he does respond to vibrations from some

12 fast moving objects:  dogs running, cats, cars and vehicles, hard to say - he can't see them moving.

12 different challenges:  obstacle courses, tunnel, ball pit, TTouch star, food puzzle toys - wobbler, food ball, food saucer, muffin tin, steps up and down, uneven surfaces, full flight of stairs - 12

12 handling experiences/week: on his back in my lap, on back in arms, on back on floor, carried under arm, carried with another puppy, grooming, ears, mouth, nail clipping, tail, check eyes, cuddle time, lifted up and down - 13

12 different eating containers:  metal bowl, food ball, muffin tin, kong, ball pit, scattered on floor, hand, kong wobbler, food saucer, ceramic bowl, plastic bowl, elevated bowl -12

12 different eating locations: yard, pen, office, crate, in the rain, different crates - 6

12 different dogs/puppies:  Brinks, Vegas, Owen, Nike, Treasure, Elsa, Daphne, Silva, and kittens! - 12

12 different times left alone/week: many in pen, crate, car even for short periods of time - many more than 12

12 collar and leash experiences new areas:  walks, yard, office, all over - many more than 12

Thanks Cameron for the great pics!