Wrapping it all up...

My genius hour project has come to an end. During the entire month of taking Loki to daily trips to the park, I found progression in Loki's social behaviour towards other dogs.

In order to successfully achieve some progression, I made a list of the following things that ensured Loki would have a smooth introduction:

1. Setting: I found the setting to be extremely important because Loki is a more dominant and territorial dog (he doesn't even allow you to step on the lawn!). It was imperative for Loki to meet new dogs in a more public setting, somewhere he could not feel territorial or dominant.

2. Climate: The weather had to be beautiful. By ensuring the weather was pleasant and comfortable, it guaranteed that Loki was going to be happy to walk. When the weather is rainy or too windy, Loki tends to either rush his walks or acts quite gloomy. By being in a good mood, it meant that he would be more pleasant towards the dogs he'll meet at the park.

3. Owner: It was important for me to be calming and supportive. During his interactions with the other dogs, I had to assure him that it was okay to see the other dogs and encourage him to do so. By being calm when your dog is being introduced to another dog, he may learn to understand that this new dog is not an enemy.

4. Reassurance: Since Loki has severe separation anxiety and jealousy issues, it was very important for me to keep acknowledging Loki during these interactions. By directing my attention to the new dog, Loki would direct his attention to my actions rather than trying to interact with the other dog. I had to ensure that Loki was still my priority during the interactions. This was achieved by constantly saying "Good boy, Loki!" or "Say hi, Loki!"

I tried my best to confirm Loki's progression by bringing back for a second interaction with the dog from the first blog post, Aengus. I used Aengus as my final interaction for a specific reason. Because he was most aggressive towards this dog, I figured it would be better to re-introduce Loki and Aengus and see how much the project has impacted him.

The results were incredible. Loki showed absolutely no aggression towards Aengus. In fact, Aengus' owner noticed his change is behaviour as well. Loki didn't transform into another dog, but he did show a lot of improvement.

I really enjoyed learning how to train my dog to become more tolerant towards other animals. I hope to still continue his daily trips to the park and hope to see further progression in his social behaviour.

The chihuahua and the poodle

Loki and I ended up going to the local park this morning. With my camera strapped around my neck, we walked to the park and had a very pleasant surprise.

After a bit of running around, Loki ran into one of his new friends - Chi-Chi! During their reunion, I saw something that was actually quite surprising and new to me. Loki wasn't nervous at all! He allowed Chi-Chi to sniff him and wagged his tail happily as Chi-Chi did this. After their sniffing of each other - this is where it gets surprising - they were running around together. This is something that Loki has never done with another dog before. Usually, he allows the others to sniff him or vice versa and then moves on. This time, it changed.

He was being more social than usual. He was surprisingly cheery after seeing Chi-Chi. The dog's owner told me that Chi-Chi has met a dog with similar problems like Loki. After this dog met Chi-Chi, the dog was very playful. Perhaps it's not Chi-Chi's personality that makes him quite universally popular with the dogs he meets.

However, there are some problems that I encounter frequently when taking Loki to the park for my Genius Hour project. It's the problem of being able to record his behaviour with another dog. I find it quite difficult to record since the other dog's owner usually creates small talk with me. I have trouble turning on the camera and start recording since I find it quite impolite to do so while another person is speaking with me. This is a problem that needs to be fixed because, with great regret, I could not record this new behaviour.

I plan on bringing Loki back to Aengus since he's easily accessible (family friend's pet). Perhaps his behaviour and slight hatred towards Aengus will change since their first encounter. I will keep you posted.

Loki's second report... progress!

According to a few resources, it states that the best way for a dog to meet other dogs is at the park. After Loki's first failed introduction to a puppy, named Aengus, I decided to take him to a park that he's quite unfamiliar with.

The results were incredible! Originally, Loki and Aengus were introduced in my home - which, of course, was a terrible idea. After taking him to the park, he met another dog named Chi-Chi. This dog, Chi-Chi, is a chihuahua that belonged to an elderly man. Because he was small in stature, I figured Loki would feel less threatened by him.

According to the man, his dog was quite eager to meet Loki after seeing him and I play some fetch. Like Chi-Chi, Loki was quite excited as well. There was some tail-wagging and tongues hanging out. I knew this was a good sign.

Of course, Loki was still quite hesitant of Chi-Chi but he showed absolutely no aggression towards his new companion. Loki stood in a spot while he allowed Chi-Chi to sniff him. He was still hesitant to play around with Chi-Chi but, still, he was happy. After this experience, I have learned that taking Loki to an unfamiliar place (somewhere he cannot feel territorial) is an excellent spot for Loki to feel calm enough to meet others.

I returned to the park this morning but the trip came to be unsuccessful since there were no dogs present - only toddlers and parents.

His next adventure may be another dog park, beach strip, or hiking trails.

ChiChi second video from Catherine Vo on Vimeo.

Loki's first report

I've been doing some research and some articles have stated that it's important for an adult dog to have a proper introduction with other dogs. In an article written on Bestfriends.org, it states that it is important for a dog to be slowly introduced with the owners being calm and relaxed. In addition to this, the dogs must be leashed - but not tightly.

I attempted this. Loki has met a brand new puppy named Aengus. He's quite small and playful. During their meeting, they were quite curious of each other. There was plenty of sniffing but it seemed as though Loki did not enjoy being sniffed despite him sniffing Aengus. I believe this introduction made him quite uncomfortable since Aengus was in Loki's personal space. In spite of this, Loki was not aggressive towards him.

After a few minutes, the situation worsened. Aengus, who is under 4 months old, has very puppy-like behaviour so he is extremely playful. Aengus tried to play with Loki by nipping his ears and climbing on him. It was very clear that Loki did not enjoy this and began growling. We had to immediately pull Loki away before the situation become violent.

It's clear this was unsuccessful. My next attempt will be bringing him to a dog park on the weekend (more likely for a dog to be there) and introduce him to a dog on neutral territory. I may try to look into dog training books or other Internet resources. I hope to have a video uploaded in the next blog post.

Why "dogs"?

I have finally chosen my genius hour question! After many hours of debates within my head and some contemplation, I decided to create my genius hour question based on my dog. Originally, I wanted to look into bullying in an educational setting. The reason for this is because I was bullied all throughout my elementary school years for my race and, you may be surprised about this, the fact that I was a mute. I was bullied for being the only Asian girl in the classroom (Imagine being constantly asked "How do you say this in Chinese?") and for being shy. Encouraged to look beyond the educational setting, I struggled really hard to find another topic.

I enjoyed being challenged by Ms. Welbourn. Indeed, it's great to have so much freedom in what you can research but it's also quite challenging since there's a billion topics you can choose from. The question I decided on is, "Is it possible to train a dog with social behaviour issues?" My dog, Loki, is quite stubborn and snooty when it comes to strangers - whether it be other dogs or human beings. He has issues trusting other people and refuses to go near strangers. Despite exposing him to other dogs and people, he still remains cautious to this date. I believe the core of this problem is the fact that he was severe separation anxiety and is therefore jealous when attention is given to others - in spite of constant reassurance that we will not abandon him. To show you, below is a video of his separation anxiety. When there's a chance of him being left alone, he suddenly looks up to find out where you're going and if it's long enough that he must follow you at your ankles.

I believe the topic I have chosen is a good one since the reader and I can actually see if there's progress in his social behaviour issues. You cannot simply Google quick fixes since not all training methods work on every single dog. With help from classmates, I hope to find a solution to this issue.

Copyright

In today's society, everything that was once inaccessible is not available to use at the tip of our fingertips. All sorts of knowledge is available for us to read, learn, and share. The problem that lies here is the word "share." With the media we access, are we really allowed to share it with others? Because there's billions of content on the Internet, we forget that we're distributing other people's work. Accordingg to Candace Figg, "Basic copyright law means that all rights are reserved - the copying, distributing, performing, displaying, or adapting of digital media found online is prohibited" (Figg, 1). We may all be guilty of sharing online content whether it be a video shared on your PowerPoint presentation, images you use to decorate your presentation or social media page, or music in your YouTube video. Many of us fail to give credit to the original content creators or even ask for permission. Copyright is a difficult thing since many of us don't realize we're committing it.

In an educational setting, there are exceptions but these exceptions are extremely limited. When distributing work in a class handout, only a maximum of 10% of the  content can be shared. As future educators, we need to teach students how to properly use an image without infringement. This may include encouraging students to do further investigation on the image (Does it say that it's copyrighted? Does the creator state that you may use the image?). In addition to this, citation is very important!

We can encourage this by turning our students into their very own detectives. The further they research, the more knowledgeable they may become on copyright laws!

San Jose Library (2008, August 9) Children using the library computers (Photograph)
Retrieved from https://www.flickr.com/photos/sanjoselibrary/

Ribeiro, L. (2008, August 9) Children at School (Photograph).
Retrieved from https://www.flickr.com/photos/lupuca/

Welcome to the blog!

I'd like to introduce myself. My name is Catherine Vo and I am currently blogging for Brock University's Teacher Education course. To start off, I'd like to give you a small bit of information about me. I've recently graduated from McMaster University with a Bachelor of Arts: Combined Honours English and Communication Studies.

During my time in school, I was given the privilege to learn from such amazing elementary/high school teachers and university professors. In all my years as a student, I have always admired educators due to the fact that they have an irrevocable devotion and passion towards teaching individuals. It has made me come to realize that education focuses on the student's ability to grow into the individual that they are meant to be and allow them to develop the skills that may assist them to reach their endeavours. With the privilege of learning from gifted educators, I was able to understand that teaching does not solely focus on delivering content, but, instead, focuses on how an individual can learn to appreciate the content and use it in their everyday lives.

I will admit: I am quite nervous and scared yet excited for what's to come in this program. Despite this, I know it will shape me into a better educator and a better person in general.