Cheetah 8.11.09

Saturday night Cheetah did something to Swiffer out in the back yard. The last I looked, Cheetah was occupied chewing a bone about the size of Swiffer on the deck, and Swiffer was wandering around in the yard. But she must've started trying to play with Swiffer bc Swiff was covered in spit. All of a sudden Swiffer started screaming and Cheetah was slinking away - they were behind the big bush so I am not sure what happened. I bolted out there pretty quickly from preparing dinner. I suspect Swiffer pulled a muscle while executing an avoidance maneuver - possibly with Cheetah's paw on her back. She has been favoring her left hind leg ever since, so I made a vet appt for her tonight. Of course she is more terrified of Cheetah than ever. I am keeping them more separated. I can tell it isn't broken or dislocated, and there was no blood to indicate a puncture wound and I checked her foot pads for thorns etc. So it has to be a ligament or muscle. She can put weight on it, but mostly hobbles around on three legs. Poor boo. Cheetah was only trying to play with Swiffer I'm sure. She tends not to know her strength. Swiffer is also a bit of a drama queen, but this is a long time to be in a snit and play on our guilt so we're getting it checked out.

Cheetah is learning not to stalk the cat, which is good. I have found a squirt of water in the snout with a spray bottle is fabulous aversion training. As you know, normally I go for positive reinforcement. But there are certain instances where aversion is the way to go. In this case, Cheetah gets so focused on the cat that her ears don't even twitch when I talk to her. Now, all I have to do is look in the direction of the bottle on the counter or say her name sternly and she will immediately relinquish her post at the basement door. Of course that cat has figured this out and is taunting her. I swear to god it is like having kids.

Note on aversion training - timing is absolutely imperative. If your correction is off by even a tiny amount, you might as well not do it it at all bc the effect will be lost. The dog will not associate the punishment with the crime. You absolutely must read the dog's body language and anticipate their actions so that you can correct the split second they start to do thing you are trying to prevent.