corvus

I do know nervous dogs that cock their leg quite a lot, and I've noticed once they settle down they do it much less often. Maybe this is a little crazy... But have you thought about putting it on cue? Maybe if he gets the okay to do it a little bit that will do him. Another slightly crazy idea... Have you ever done the perimeter with him to see if he cocks less if you are right by him?

Is it possible for you to stay with him until he settles? With both of mine I would just set up on a folding chair with my laptop next to the pen and waited until they fell asleep. Then crept away and came back the moment I heard them waking. It seemed to help a lot for them to have me there when they went to sleep and right there when they woke up. They both quietened down within a few days of starting that and became more comfortable about being left alone. They would no longer panic if they couldn't see me because they were confident I wouldn't be far away.

Haha, Evolving, I don't think Kivi Tarro has even realised at 2 years old that water ever comes out of the sky in the first place. He will happily lie out in the rain eating bones, or just sit in the rain and bark. He doesn't notice it.

Read Control Unleashed. McDevitt (author of CU) has a game called the Gimme A Break game that is designed to teach dogs that are easily distracted to want to hang out with their handler rather than checking out distractions. And she has a few other games that might be helpful, too. I love her games!

Erik is still a wuss about toileting in the rain and he's 11 months old. Fine playing in the rain at the dog park, but he hates getting his tootsies wet just to pee. I started paying out big when he went on cue. Haven't had any problems since I started doing that, but poo is harder. We don't have a cue for that one.

I agree with Janba. I used to love watching my older boy when he was a pup. He lived with my then geriatric corgi. He would bounce around her and bat his paws at her in spite of the grumbling until I felt sure she was going to have him, then just at that tipping point he'd play bow and she'd go after him with a rough game instead of being grumpy. It amazed me that he could do that. How did he know it would work? I can only assume it looked more benign to him than it did to me.

Someone on a US board pointed out to me that it's not like Australia over there and claimed that yards aren't safe from thieves and that puppies get stolen. I had my older dog in the yard in a pen for a while. I was nervous about giving him the full run of the yard just because puppies can get themselves stuck places and that kind of thing.

Apart from shaping, which would likely solve the problems, I think it's also good if you want to lure to fade it as fast as you can. So if you're teaching her something new with a lure, and she does it right, say, three times in a row, that's when I'd get the food out of my hand and try luring her with my hand alone. You can always go back to a lure to kickstart the trick if she's looking a bit lost, but just keep trying to get the treat out of your hand. This is why I like targeting so much. That's also a good one to look up. And it's also a good idea to mix up the rewards and use things other than food. Or use different foods, or do it with food but in different situations. Even asking for a trick and giving their dinner in return helps get them out of the luring routine.

The only thing thundercoats and wraps do is make a dog feel slightly more secure. They (and DAP diffusers) sometimes work for dogs with more mild symptoms, like panting and drooling, but if it's worse than that I would be surprised if it helped. When a dog is panicking the only thing they can learn is to panic more if they can't "escape". It's awful. I doubt anything short of sedatives and anti-panic drugs would work for a dog destroying the house.

There's nothing "easy" about spending thousands on behaviour modification that doesn't work and repairing damage your dog has done to your house in a panic and deciding to have it PTS as a last resort. Anxiety disorders in dogs are very complex and in some cases so ingrained that you just can't do a great deal short of sedating the dog. At that point you have to ask yourself what's really best for the dog. And actually, it can be cruel to crate a dog that is so panicked they are ripping holes in doors and so forth. I really feel for the family, but I wonder if they are making the right decision for the dog as much as themselves. What kind of life is it to be so distressed on a regular basis? I wouldn't want it for any animal under my care.

I used SB with my last dog. It made a difference for about 2 years. Then she went onto pain killers for her arthritis. ETA the Cartrophen injections didn't help her. Putting her on a grain free diet and the SB did, but by the time we got to Cartrophen nothing much was helping anymore.

Well, she doesn't know she is doing something wrong. Most likely she is just responding to your behaviour, which is worrying to her. Have you tried taking her out and rewarding her for going in the right place? My dogs have a cue to toilet "water the grass" and when they do it on cue they get a treat. The best thing is it has got Erik scratching at the door to be let out so I can give him treats. In the meantime, crate her or otherwise confine her at night so she can't urinate on the carpet. During the day is there somewhere you can put her where it won't matter if she wees? She goes when you aren't around so you can't shout at her and frighten her. Seriously, you will do a lot better rewarding her for going in the right place. Getting it on cue is so helpful. Go back to basics and go out with her so you can use the cue when she goes and give her a reward. You may have to hide so she doesn't hold it in because you're around.

Aww. You look out for the little man, Regal. :D They are pretty adorable as well. Sometimes Kivi comes over all paternal-like. Earlier in the week Erik was nauseous for some mysterious reason and curled up miserably against Kivi's shoulder. Kivi was nuzzling his face and licking his ears. Awww.

Or out of frustration. Most of Erik's barking is usually frustration barking, but if something exciting happens he just gets himself wired and goes into hyper-vigilant mode. Frustration barking is difficult IMO, because you have to figure out why the dog is frustrated. If it's because they are anticipating something and haven't got it yet the best solution I've found so far is to de-couple all the cues that led to the anticipation from the reward or activity that is anticipated. If it's frustration because the dog wants something and doesn't know HOW to get it, then it's harder. You can teach them a way, but IME you have to be very consistent. I did this with Erik for attention-seeking, and it's a bit hit-and-miss. I tend to periodically reward the bark without realising it until after. If you don't ever plan to give the dog what they want, I've found it's also a bit hit-and-miss. I have a "go away" cue for Erik that is meant to convey that he's not getting what he wants so he may as well give up. Takes a bit of generalising, though. It works brilliantly for food, but apparently only if I say it, and only about my food. I'm working on generalising it, but it takes a bit of tolerance and I have to admit I don't get that many opportunities to introduce it into other situations. I do have a "that's all" cue to tell him to quit staring at his toys and barking at them, so I guess maybe I've made both a bit too specific. And then there's over threshold frustration barking, and there's nothing much for that but to try to calm Erik down. I guess a punishment would work, if I was that upset by it. Kivi just gets cuddles whenever he starts barking incessantly. It's the only reason he barks. I used to resist, but every time I went out there to see what he was on about he'd be looking so cute and happy and he'd come and lean on me and I couldn't help myself and I'd be cuddling him before I knew what I was doing. Luckily he's got Erik these days and is now rarely socially frustrated.

To be honest, I haven't paid much mind to fear periods. Are they in a fear period? Who really knows? It doesn't matter. If you have a scared puppy, you reassure them. I'm always ready for a puppy to act weird and unpredictably. Every novel item or situation is approached with the expectation that it might scare the puppy. Just because they were okay with it once doesn't mean they will be okay with it next time. That's where having food on you helps. Scared puppies usually overcome their fears pretty quickly if there's food involved. Unless they are too scared to eat, of course. I figure, as long as I can put distance between us and the scary thing if I have to, and have the means to do some on-the-spot counter-conditioning, then we're all good.

I like my way. I didn't even have to get out of my chair. And I don't have a dog that runs away whenever someone picks up a water bottle. I do have a dog that ducks whenever someone tosses a pillow around, though... Didn't have to get out of my chair for that one, either.

On Monday Erik spent most of the day jumping up every minute to go bark at something for 5-10 minutes, that being how long I can stand a barking dog for. I couldn't even tell what he was barking at most of the time. Sitting in my study trying to work, all I wanted was for a certain little dog to shut the hell up and let me work in peace. I didn't want to take time out to take him for a run or do some training. I just wanted to work! I got crankier and crankier and was doing that human knee-jerk reaction thing where I was just like "ERIK, SHUT UP!" and I'd get that instant gratification of him shutting up for a few moments before he started again. Eventually, I admitted to myself that this was a long way from anything I would suggest someone else do. I knew it didn't work and was only making me cross and desensitising Erik to the useful pause reaction when someone shouts his name. So I brought the treats into my study and set about teaching Erik why lying on his bed beside me is a good pastime for him. I started that on Wednesday. Not three days (and 5 "reward straps") later, Erik is cutting off his own barking after one short bout and then coming back to sit on his bed. A few rewards later he is lying on his bed half asleep. So not only have we curbed the barking, but also lowered his arousal. The guys that mow the lawn are here this morning and Erik gets very aroused by strange people inviting themselves into the yard. He almost wasn't going to leave them out there alone to do their thing, preferring to bark manically at them instead. I thought for a moment I was just going to have to put up with crazy, over threshold Erik inside for the next half an hour and was dreading the inevitability of Erik being worked up for the rest of the day, as that's what normally happens. Somewhat to my surprise, I only had to put up with it for five minutes, then he was lying on his bed squashing his barks down to quiet little yips and then nothing. Kept the reward rate high for a bit so he was motivated to stay put and then tapered it off and now he's snoozing there on his bed, completely relaxed. So next time I'm tempted by a knee-jerk reaction, hopefully I will recall how useful it is to resist and approach the problem from a training perspective rather than an emotional human perspective. The thing I love best about Erik is that I can't be lazy with him. He doesn't just mould himself to our lifestyle the way Kivi did. If he wants to do something he won't just give up because I say I think he should come inside and be quiet. He needs better reasons than that.

Erik and Kivi were hooning around the park this morning hopefully running off all their excess energy. This pup we have met a few times comes along and he's all excited because there are lots of dogs to play with and Erik starts chasing him. They run around for a bit and then Erik stops for a breather and the pup (who is almost Kivi's size) bounces around and ends up bumping into Erik with his chest. Erik gets knocked off balance and has to lay on the ground, and the pup is now kind of standing too close for him to get up and trying to nudge Erik into another game. Erik's body language changes as suddenly he feels he's not in control of the situation anymore. It was very subtle and mild and I wasn't planning on doing anything about it because it looked like Erik would sort himself out and the pup is a pretty gentle lad, but then Kivi bounds over and just lightly chest barges the pup backwards a step or two and gives him a friendly nuzzle and lick and leads him away a few metres with a short chase and wrestle game. So Erik has the chance to get up and then he runs over and joins Kivi's game with the pup and everyone is happy again. Coincidence, or was Kivi looking out for his little brother? I'm leaning towards the latter because Kivi isn't normally much of a barger. He usually barges as a bit of a cheeky and playful retaliation if another dog has done something cheeky to him. For example, one time his friend Rosy came tearing down from the other end of the park, barged into him when he didn't even know she was coming, and then took off again. He picked himself up, ran after her, and barged her back, then came trotting back to us. But maybe today he just got aroused by Erik on the ground and this pup bouncing around him.

I have a Finnish Lapphund and a Swedish Vallhund. When I was getting the Lappie I had quite specific requirements. Me and OH worked full-time and I had an elderly corgi with a bad back and pet rabbits that lived in the house. I wanted a dog that would be sensitive and low drive and easy going, but for myself I wanted a larger dog and something with a bit of independence and intelligence that might play fetch or tug with me. OH just wanted a dog he could cuddle with. I have a thing for spitz breeds, so the Lappie turned out to be just right. Love my Lappie and will always have one, I think. They are gentle, easy, sweet and cuddly. But Kivi has a nice independent streak that keeps me on my toes. ;) The Vallhund was a bit of a "maybe this will work" thing. We had just lost our corgi and wanted to get an outgoing, active smaller dog that would keep up with Kivi and withstand his rough wrestling games. I was still after a hyper intelligent dog with a bit of independence. OH wanted another corgi, but I didn't. We thought about a Shiba, but were a bit worried we wouldn't handle the busyness very well. We like our dogs to settle well and relax with us when we're not doing stuff. In retrospect, I think we would have been fine. ;) Erik our little Vall is pretty busy! He is extremely intelligent and if I don't give him things to do he makes his own entertainment. He is tough, strong, and bold, which we love. He's pretty drivey and plays a mean game of tug with me anytime I want. He's a little too working dog for me, but I do have a lot of fun training him because he's so easy and clever. He gives the most active cuddles a dog could give. Amazing!

Er, I have direct experience with Kylie Naylor and she wouldn't be my pick.

It does beg the question why there is a book entitled "Click to Calm" though. Presumably you can click for calm behaviours and click for more active behaviours for the same dog sometimes and not crank up an active dopamine arousal sort of pathway? I guess if you didn't first build a whole lot of establishing operations into normal active clicker training and started with calm behaviours as well and kind of built EOs for calm behaviours and EOs for active behaviours you could maybe still use the clicker for both. Not that I especially want to. If I recall correctly, Karen Overall's protocol for calm doesn't use markers at all. I remember giving that one a shot when Erik was young and giving up in frustration. He was so excited by possibly getting food that we were actually getting less calm as we proceeded than more calm. And then once we'd done the first session he knew what it looked like and the next time I tried to start a session he got more excited again! I thought I'd try it with rubs as rewards instead of food, but I think I give out too many rubs for free and if Erik thinks he's working he gets excited even for rubs. I swear Erik has an over-sensitive reward system. He's manic!

One time I accidentally kicked my little corgi in the jaw. She was standing right behind me when I jumped to try to reach a suitcase on the top of a wardrobe. She copped my heel right in the chin. She looked in immense pain. My brother swore she would deliberately stand right where you would step on her so she could look hurt when you did and get an apology pat. Yesterday I somehow lost Kivi. All 25 fluffy kgs of him. Walking around the house calling him, looked outside, checked the lounge room... turned out I shut him in our bedroom several hours earlier and he was patiently waiting for me to let him out. One time I accidentally shut him in my study overnight. Didn't hear a peep out of him. We only found out the next morning when OH was like "Where's Kivi? No, he's not inside. I can't find him anywhere." Sometimes that dog is so placid I think he might be slightly retarded. When you yell at one of the animals and accidentally say the wrong name, and the one whose name you erroneously used looks up at you all like "What?? I was just standing here!"

Makes sense!

Erik gets quite aroused very easily. Once he gets aroused he spends a lot of time barking at things getting himself more aroused. I've started clicking for lying beside me quietly on his bed. The problem is, I think the clicker itself gets him aroused. I dumped it and have been rewarding without a marker at all, which seems to be working, but I wonder if I should persist with the clicker to mark nice, calm signals like sleepy eyes and tail down? Did I maybe bail too soon, not giving him a chance to learn to be calm with the clicker sometimes as well?

I have on special occasions, but usually only for a few hours. I went to OH's work with them last weekend for a few hours and they were quite good, but Kivi got so many cuddles that he went into cuddle withdrawal and started whining if he'd been without cuddles for ten minutes.