Training “relaxation” – an update.
September 6, 2010 at 6:28 am 3 comments
Remember when I blogged about training Boogie to relax on his own bed when in my bedroom?
This used to be the typical scenario: Boogie would always always lie on my bed if I was in the bedroom or in the adjacent bathroom. I always had trouble getting him off my bed if I was folding laundry, changing the sheets etc. He would pace restlessly around the bed, beg (ie, stare at me) to get back on my bed and I would feel guilty and let him back on. Mind you, I LOVE having this little dog on my bed. I love sleeping and snuggling with him and I would never not want to do this, but sometimes I really need my own space.
Ever since we starting doing the “Relax On a Mat” protocol (thank you, Sarah!) – only 4 days ago – which relies on lots of calm, positive reinforcement in his own doggie bed while I am relaxing on my bed, Boogie has become obsessed with his new bed. At the end of each training session when I put the bed away, he stares at me and at his bed and wants his bed back. He has even refused to get on my bed when I call him up!
Yesterday I forgot to put his bed away. I walked into my bedroom and there he was curled up and snoozing in it. He looked so cute. I gave him a treat, petted him, praised him and left him lying there.
Tonight when I stepped out of the bathroom, I found him again in his bed instead of on my bed. Which frankly, is quite amazing.
A part of me is absolutely thrilled that Boogie is enjoying his new bed. Another part of me is still stunned that he chose his bed over my bed. I always thought that he LOVED being on my bed because well… my bed smells like me. 🙂 Ah, chicken-cheese crumbs win!
Entry filed under: Training.
Boogie's blog 
1.
Irith Bloom, KPA CTP | September 7, 2010 at 12:44 am
Good job, Lili! I’m so glad you and Boogie are enjoying the “Relax on a Mat” protocol! Keep up the excellent work!
2.
lili | September 7, 2010 at 7:50 pm
Hi Irith
The irony in all this is that last night Boogie chose not to sleep with me and he curled up in his own bed instead. He refused to move from his bed and I experienced a twinge of mild separation anxiety. 🙂
3. Should Dog Lick Baby? | Dogs and Babies | December 3, 2011 at 10:38 pm
[…] Teach what you WANT the dog to do. For the situations where the dog is chronically wanting to lick the baby, consider what you’d like the dog to do instead and build that behavior. New behaviors can be established well enough for reasonable real life use in just a couple of weeks of short sessions each day. If you can’t think of what you want, go with Relax on a Mat from Nan Arthur’s Chill Out Fido book. Here’s a nice success story on Lili Chin’s Boogie’s Blog. […]