Question For Owners Of Reactive Dogs

[Cosmolo]

Who's that/ Look at That is the best game ever for reactive dogs! It is extremely easy to implement, has advantages over traditional focus alone and relaxes dog AND owner in most cases. With most dogs i prefer to stop some of the extreme stuff first- its hard for an owner to play "Who's That" with a lunging barking dog at distance but as soon as this has stopped, even momentarily, the game takes effect.

This is the best thing we have added to our training program in the last 5 years- and thats saying something!

[Mumsie]

Tammy is our 12 y.o. JRT - she is very reactive to a number of triggers. I have taught her to pick up a ball when she wants bark in the house - it is great for muffling the sound, especially if we are on the phone in our home office.

She is also very reactive to other dogs after being attacked, being small sometimes I just pick her up and walk past the other dog or if possible pull her lead tight and keep her strictly by my side.

Our 5 y.o. male JRT couldn't care less and always gives her a confused look - why are you barking? why is Mum picking you up? oh look another dog to talk to

She is also reactive to motorbikes - she is now just growling at them after years of pulling the lead tight and trying to distract her - she used to growl, jump, bark and pull on her lead.

[StaceyB]

Gypsy is reactive and aggressive to other dogs that show an interest in her. She is predictable in that I have learnt to read/recognise her body language and triggers. If I act quickly to distract her then our walks are fine, but I don't think we will ever be able to take her off lead which is disappointing because we have a great off-lead park and she loves to run.

It makes thing difficult for me and she doesn't get walked as much as she should. I refuse to take her out with Layla because she is so strong and if something happened I wouldn't be able to control her and keep the baby safe at the same time, and by the time OH gets home from work I'm usually pretty tired, add to that the crappy weather and it's just to easy to say stuff it we'll go tomorrow (and repeat each weekday)... whick in turn makes me feel guilty.

[kayla1]

Who's that/ Look at That is the best game ever for reactive dogs! It is extremely easy to implement, has advantages over traditional focus alone and relaxes dog AND owner in most cases. With most dogs i prefer to stop some of the extreme stuff first- its hard for an owner to play "Who's That" with a lunging barking dog at distance but as soon as this has stopped, even momentarily, the game takes effect.

This is the best thing we have added to our training program in the last 5 years- and thats saying something!

That is saying something!

It's great with my fearful reactive dogs (who are predictable), and I also use it with my low threshold prey-driven dog when she spots birds etc.

[Greytmate]

Who's that/ Look at That is the best game ever for reactive dogs! It is extremely easy to implement, has advantages over traditional focus alone and relaxes dog AND owner in most cases. With most dogs i prefer to stop some of the extreme stuff first- its hard for an owner to play "Who's That" with a lunging barking dog at distance but as soon as this has stopped, even momentarily, the game takes effect.

This is the best thing we have added to our training program in the last 5 years- and thats saying something!

Can you please direct me to some more info on this game. It would be excellent to have a new game for Woody to help him learn.

He loves games and is a really fun dog. I have stopped his lunging and barking, but he is a long way from being able to react appropriately without my assistance.

[Kavik]

Who's that/ Look at That is the best game ever for reactive dogs! It is extremely easy to implement, has advantages over traditional focus alone and relaxes dog AND owner in most cases. With most dogs i prefer to stop some of the extreme stuff first- its hard for an owner to play "Who's That" with a lunging barking dog at distance but as soon as this has stopped, even momentarily, the game takes effect.

This is the best thing we have added to our training program in the last 5 years- and thats saying something!

I agree - it has really helped me a lot and has helped to relax both me and Zoe (who is dog aggro) in the presence of other dogs.

[Henrietta]

^ Greytmate, I got the 'Look at that' game from Control Unleashed. I'd be happy to post you the book for you to borrow. Unfortunately, I am not aware of another info sources on the net, but someone else may have some info.

Edit to finish my sentence

Edited July 27, 2010 by Emm

[sas]

Who's that/ Look at That is the best game ever for reactive dogs! It is extremely easy to implement, has advantages over traditional focus alone and relaxes dog AND owner in most cases. With most dogs i prefer to stop some of the extreme stuff first- its hard for an owner to play "Who's That" with a lunging barking dog at distance but as soon as this has stopped, even momentarily, the game takes effect.

This is the best thing we have added to our training program in the last 5 years- and thats saying something!

Can you please direct me to some more info on this game. It would be excellent to have a new game for Woody to help him learn.

He loves games and is a really fun dog. I have stopped his lunging and barking, but he is a long way from being able to react appropriately without my assistance.

I ahve the book I'm happy to lend you.

[SparkyTansy]

Monah I have found this to be the case with me as well - i become anxious no matter how hard I try not to be and of course that doesn't help the situation at all!

Me too - until I started to play "who's that?" from Click to Calm. Basically, as soon as the dog looks at something that MAY trigger them, while they are still relaxed (ie you have nanoseconds) say "who's that" in a happy voice and shove a treat into their mouth. After a few goes, your dog will look at you when they see a trigger, and both you and the dog remain calm.

I love the 'Look at that' game from Control Unleashed which is a similar concept. Works well with my reactive dogs.

Who's that/ Look at That is the best game ever for reactive dogs! It is extremely easy to implement, has advantages over traditional focus alone and relaxes dog AND owner in most cases. With most dogs i prefer to stop some of the extreme stuff first- its hard for an owner to play "Who's That" with a lunging barking dog at distance but as soon as this has stopped, even momentarily, the game takes effect.

This is the best thing we have added to our training program in the last 5 years- and thats saying something!

That is saying something!

It's great with my fearful reactive dogs (who are predictable), and I also use it with my low threshold prey-driven dog when she spots birds etc.

I believe this would work better on my more unpredictable boy, who is relaxed the majority of the time but tends to react when the object is close... my other reactor though, as in as soon as something is seen at a distance, she is on high alert, so her initial reaction is being alert and therefore no longer calm. how would this game be moulded to work it around her behaviour?

[Lucy's mama]

I will be waiting anxiously for an answer to sparky Tansy's question. Banjo can spot and react to something before I have time to even notice anything.

[megan_]

I will be waiting anxiously for an answer to sparky Tansy's question. Banjo can spot and react to something before I have time to even notice anything.

I am not a trainer, but my girl sometimes reacts to things that I haven't noticed yet. This was my approach:

i) Start the game in a controlled environment where you know what the trigger will be. This may mean going to the park at 6am and roping in a volunteer. This will help you predict the trigger and play the game before they react. As soon as the dog pays any attention to the trigger say "who's that/what's that/whatever line you want to use" and shove the treat in their mouth". Practice a lot. I used to keep repeating "who's that" every time she looked at the trigger. Don't worry about over treating. Then try one where you say "whose that" and wait for a second before giving the treat. If your dog turns to you during that second then they have the idea! Keep on practicing and introducing new triggers in a controlled environment.

ii) I pay a lot of attention to my surroundings and to her when I go on walks. This is harder in the dark, and people sudenly banging doors etc sometimes means she gets a fright and reacts "out of the blue". I try to minimise this by walking at certain times and making sure I take really big turns around corners etc (so we don't accidentally bump into anyone).

ii) There have been a few times when I've missed the trigger. My girl understands the game well. What I've done isn't strictly kosher and I'm happy for someone to give me a better way. If my girl has reacted and I need to calm her down (safety issue etc). I say "who's that" even though she is reacting. She immediately focuses on me and relaxes. I wait until she is calm (I never want to reward a reactive state), give her a few seconds of calm and then give her a treat. I have only used this method sparily and only when I need to bring her back down quickly as I don't want her to think that she triggers the game by reacting, but it is good to know I have an "emergency" calm down command if I ever need it.

Edited July 27, 2010 by megan_

[corvus]

I believe this would work better on my more unpredictable boy, who is relaxed the majority of the time but tends to react when the object is close... my other reactor though, as in as soon as something is seen at a distance, she is on high alert, so her initial reaction is being alert and therefore no longer calm. how would this game be moulded to work it around her behaviour?

You just have to teach it when the dog is under threshold. I know people that started teaching their dogs to look at boring things to learn the game and then took it on the road when the dog was good at it. McDevitt's application at least does not depend on the dog being able be calm around a trigger, but reframes the trigger so it's like "A dog! You know what that means... the Look At That game! We love this game!" She uses the clicker as an interruptor as well as a marker, so you simultaneously mark the "looking", interrupt it, and then reward the looking at you as the dog inevitably does when they hear the clicker. You have to stay below the point where the dog no longer hears the clicker because they are so aroused. Anyway, it's best if you read the book, but I think there is a Control Unleashed Yahoo group, and I believe there is a reactive dogs Yahoo group as well.

My dogs are so conditioned to clickers and marker words that they have to be really extremely ramped up to not hear a click. For Kivi, that means "A swan! Right there in front of me!" (he gets very excited about birds). For Erik... I think there will be a point where nothing will get him so fired up he can't hear a clicker. At the moment, I guess the most challenging situation is when the OH has taken Kivi on ahead and he desperately wants to run after them but can't because he's on leash. He gets so frustrated he loses it. If you get in fast he does all right, but that's a recent achievement. He has a very strongly conditioned down that is his default behaviour. I love default downs because it's easy to get to them and calm them down in that position. Kivi's default behaviour is a sit, and he can bounce out of that in a millisecond. A down is more stable IME.

[Aidan]

I don't deliberately set about to teach them to look at things, they will look anyway so I just click before they react. You need to be quick with the clicker and you need to keep on being quick until you don't have to be quick any more.

[Aidan]

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Edited July 27, 2010 by Aidan

[SparkyTansy]

Thanks guys ;)

Corvus perhaps you should change the name of this thread to the Reactive dogs support thread ;)

[corvus]

I should point out that my dogs are not particularly reactive, so I can afford to be a bit gung ho and sloppy. I have only used it to sort out frustration lunging and carry-on when the dogs are on leash and see another dog on leash. They were young dogs and very friendly! It was very quick and easy for my dogs. I still use it for Kivi because he gets tunnel vision at times and it jolts him out of it. Erik I haven't used it with in ages. He is quite responsive to his name these days and he usually knows what I'm going to ask him to do next.

[Skye GSD]

Have thoroughly enjoyed the comments of all on this thread.

I, too, have a reactive GSD who has just turned 12 months old. Like others, the trigger can be across the other side of the park but does not really go full blown unless we are passing each other. The club we were attending did not offer much support - in fact, we spent more time out of class than we did in it as I kept getting told to walk her away in no uncertain terms (am sure the instructors used to be school teachers as it made me feel like a detention was imminent if I did not comply and I am in my 60's!!).

We now have a personal instructor and she is great but I am keen to purchase the Control Unleashed book. Is it available in Australia or do you have to buy it direct from USA on line??

[koalathebear]

;) I know this is a really dumb question......but can someone define "reactive dogs" for me? Sorry to be a pain, but I am still learning all the terms and jargon.

Thanks

I am so glad you asked the question. I was thinking: "My puppy pretty much reacts to everything" ;) there are a couple of old labs and golden retrievers at my obedience school that are placid as cows and don't react to anything and I look at them very wistfully every Sunday ... I thought it was in the nature of a puppy/dog that they are interested in everything and therefore respond to everything - I guessed that there was a technical term though

[Kavik]

I don't actually use a word, but want automatic focus if we see another dog. Look at the dog, look at me = click/treat, look at dog, look at me = click/treat. I only click/treat if the dog is looking at me. At first I would click/treat if Zoe looked back at me after looking at the dog, even if she reacted first. Gradually the reaction has been reducing and provided I can keep to a certain distance I can get her to look at the dog and then back at me without a reaction.

I use this with all my dogs, even though Zoe is the only aggro one. Very handy for having to pass dogs on the street, even if your dog is just exciteable and friendly, to help keep attention on you.

[Cosmolo]

I will write a more detailed response later, although everyone else has covered it pretty well.

I am slightly different to Kavik though in that i will initially reward regardless of whether the dog looks at me or not.