# Update on Fiona



## Patrick Murray (Mar 27, 2006)

Hi all. On October 10th I started a thread ( http://www.workingdogforum.com/vBulletin/f16/some-concerns-about-fiona-8855/) regarding a couple of concerns I had with my then 10 month old puppy, Fiona. My main concern was that she had mildly growled twice at my 5 year-old son. Another concern was her dog aggression. 

Since that post, and as I mentioned in later posts in that thread, I have dilligently worked with Fiona and my son to show Fiona her place in our family and to build a bond between them. I have also managed to get Fiona around a good number of dogs, albeit from longer to shorter distances. :mrgreen: 

I am happy to share with you that our efforts have been very successful. Fiona has never again growled at my son nor has she demonstrated any dominant/negative behavior or posture toward him. My son feeds Fiona, gives her cookies after asking her to "sit", throws a ball to her, takes her on walks (she must heel and, I should add, they are both with me on the walks) and pets her regularly. I will make sure that my son continues this type of interaction from here on out in order to maintain and further build this positive relationship. 

With regard to dog aggression, Fiona has come a long way but still isn't quite where she needs to be. A couple of months ago Fiona would be literally "chomping at the bit" to get to another dog, male or female. Upon speaking to my county's sheriff's K-9 head trainer, he invited me to bring Fiona there to work on her dog aggression. Fiona behaved very aggressive toward the K9's, all of whom were male. To their credit, none of them responded in kind. They probably thought "who's this crazy little bitch"? :lol: I have also taken Fiona to various parks in the hopes of encountering other balanced dogs. Upon seeing a walker and their dog, I would put Fiona in a "down" about 20 feet from where they would cross. Repeating this exercise has had a desensitizing and calming effect on Fiona. In many cases I'm even able to get Fiona to "down" peacefully within 5 feet or so of other calm dogs. My goal is for Fiona to be disinterested/neutral in the presence of other dogs. I think we're getting there. 

I will add that I stepped up, significantly, Fiona's obedience training. The progress we have made would not be possible without the strides in communication that we made through this training. Fiona's understanding of what I expect and when I expect it has and continues to evolve. 

These challenges were a bit new to me as my two other dogs (8 & 10) never had these issues. Had I been able to anticipate them, and maybe I should have, I would have taken these steps long ago. Fiona is a different dog and she has required a different approach. I didn't know that before, but I know it now!


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## Patrick Murray (Mar 27, 2006)

Here is a pic from a few days ago of Fiona towing :mrgreen: my son and his car along a bike path at our local park. As you can see she was Full Steam Ahead!


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## Lee H Sternberg (Jan 27, 2008)

Great, Patrick! We both understand the challenges with this type pup. It keeps life interesting. :smile:


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## Mike Scheiber (Feb 17, 2008)

Thats great news every kid should have a dog


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## Anne Vaini (Mar 15, 2007)

Good news! Keep up the good work!

How about a pulling harness for her "carting"?


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## Daryl Ehret (Apr 4, 2006)

Great news to hear! Love the picture, I think you've nicely illustrated her "drive" being under control ;-)


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## Patrick Murray (Mar 27, 2006)

Thanks for all the kind words. And I hope that my experience with Fiona might help others in the future.


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