Growly Class III: Two Steps Forward, One Step Back

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Our Growly Class trainer Deborah likes to say we should all be "cautiously positive" in how we handle the dogs. That should also apply to our expectations for their performance. Gianna behaved "OK" in class last night. She was better than the first class, but not as good as the second class. She didn't bite us (though she got Deborah), but she was more reactive to other dogs, even small dogs, than we hoped. As a result, she was demoted back to the "outer circle."

Amanda took the reins for the first time during this class, and she was great. It's a lot of work constantly watching your dog, hearing the trainer's instructions, staying positive (happy voice!), keeping treats at ready to reward positive responses and being ready to pull your dog back to stop negative responses (lunging, barking, growling).

We were a little more frustrated and tired than we hoped by the end of class. Gianna slept like a rock. I think she's still sleeping.

Amanda was upset because another dog owner in class was surprised to hear us say that Gianna is actually really great at doggy daycare, dog parks, at home and really any situation when she's not hooked on a leash. (You make small talk with the other dog owners when you're in these situations to calm the mood, if anything.) Of course, the other dog owners have only seen her act like a spazz in class, so that's to be expected. We just don't like the idea that other people don't trust Gianna like we do. But trust is earned, and Gianna has work ahead before she displays consistent, good behavior on a leash that earns trust from our acquaintances. That's why we're in Growly Class.

I keep telling Amanda (and myself) that we all have bad days and wake up the wrong side of the bed occasionally. We happened to snap at each other earlier that morning over some spilled coffee (spilled milk would have made for an awesome, real-life cliché). Gianna had a bad day, too. I'm optimistic because we're getting better at anticipating bad reactions and avoiding them. That goes for our dog and each other!

Amanda will be taking the lead for the next couple classes as I'm headed to New Zealand(!!!) with Sergio for a photography gig. I know, huge deal. Watch for photos toward the end of the month along with some obnoxious amount of gushing.

I originally purchased Growly Classes as an admittedly odd birthday present for Amanda because I know it's important that she be able and confident to hold her own with our 50-pound furball without relying on my brute strength. She already can, and she'll do great in these upcoming weeks. My wife is a rock like that, and that's why she rocks!

Growly Class II: The Storm Settles

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After a disappointing first Growly Class, we rebounded with tangible progress in our second class. Gianna was able to move from the "outer circle" of misbehaving dogs, to the "inner circle" of on-track dogs! It's like we got called up to the varsity team! We were deflated after that first lesson (and I was sore from getting my shins nipped at), but we put in the work last week with Gianna to improve her behavior. She only bit me once in the thigh early in class out of reaction to a dog she was scared of, but after that her "freak outs" subsided. We got paired up with a couple small dogs as she reacts more to dogs her size or larger, and she behaved reasonably well.

I think overall she's a happier dog because through practice for class we are giving her more "jobs" day-to-day. We're keeping up the practice and not getting too comfortable with progress because the dogs are continuously faced with new challenges in class, such as meeting other dogs or experiencing new environments. I don't expect Gianna will react perfectly in every situation, but we're learning more about what she reacts to and how to anticipate those scenarios so that we minimize her response. Let's hope for more progress in class #3 this week!

Growly Class I: Hurricane Gianna Emerges

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It's taken me a week to synthesize what happened: Gianna was the worst dog at Growly Class. We felt good going into classes because we took her to the training facility a week in advance so that she could get familiar with the scene via doggy daycare. Of course, she was fine off leash and hardly wanted to leave.

Our seemingly clever prep work proved ineffective for class, like running a mile to train for a marathon. Gianna outright failed every task put in front of her. Mind you, the "tasks" were simple scenarios where she met the other dogs at a safe distance while on leash. Success was as simple as her not freaking out, but she continually freaked out.

The first task, standing by our car while other dogs and owners did the same, set the pace for the evening. She couldn't handle it. She lunged and barked at other dogs she saw. When I pulled her back, she would nip at my shins and shoes like I was cattle. I'm planning to wear shinguards for the second class, seriously.

Other dogs progressed to a new trial where they were to walk down the parking lot aisle, something like a Soul Train dance line, while we struggled to keep her attention behind our car where other dogs were out of sight. The trainer took us inside to try a harness that provided better control and quarantined us in a corner of the room so that the other dogs could come inside without confrontation.

We remained in that corner of the room, near two other misbehaving dogs, for the rest of the evening. All that was missing was a dunce hat.

Gianna's fundamental problem is that she struggles with "proximity anxiety" (she doesn't like the distance limitations of a leash) and she "resource guards" (wants to protect us). That translates into behaviors where she lunges and barks and gets defensive of us when there are other dogs around. To help desensitize the leash trials, we're supposed to pop treats in her mouth when she feels anxious as a way of saying "It's OK." At first, that worked, but the treats got old after the first 20 minutes. Hell, I can only take eating human candy for so long.

By the end of the hour class, I was exhausted from trying to keep Gianna in place and using a "happy voice," Gianna was way stressed out and Amanda was on the verge of tears. We so wanted a glimmer of success in that first class but knew we had more work to do. Work continues at class tonight. Wish us luck!

The Aftermath of 'Shit Seattle People Say When It Snows'

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I explained how it came to be in an interview with GeekWire. I explained why it worked on my master's program blog, Flip The Media.

I quickly felt overplayed like a Green Day song but am overall happy that I invested the little time and effort to produce those videos. The attention seemed to go away just as fast as the snow melted, and that was fine by me.

There were plenty of haters on YouTube and even a hater in my UW alumni circle who called me "narcissistic" (haven't heard that before!), but as you can see by the YouTube votes, many more people that enjoyed them and I'm glad I contributed to smiles and laughs during this year's snow days.

I enjoyed the reaction my family and friends' reaction to the videos' initial climb in views (now over 300,000 combined) and their dismay when one YouTube commenter said I look like Ryan Gosling (far from the truth, I look more like the Lady Antebellum guy).

Here are links from the coverage I could find, mostly for my own records, and the videos embedded below. Thanks to everyone who spread the word and extended the initial 15 seconds of fame to 15 minutes.