BC Crazy Posted February 9, 2015 Share Posted February 9, 2015 Better Late, totally get the ripped up hands. It so hurts... Stella has ripped up mine so many times & my hands have been so blistered by her reactivity on leash when she was younger I could barely hold the leash at all. I wore gloves in the winter time to try & save them. Thankfully she has improved a lot since she was a youngster. She is going along very well at the moment. She will always be a work in progress though. Your doing really well with Bonnie BL & the incident the other day hasn't set her back which is great. Also really good that you have pin pointed Bonnies triggers. One of them being Hi-Vis clothing/delivery folks. 'On your mat' once proofed should work well when someone is at the door. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Better Late Posted February 10, 2015 Share Posted February 10, 2015 (edited) It's horrid isn't it BCC! Crappy nylon leashes be gone, isn't it amazing what you learn when you're a first time dog owner. Well, if you bother to put in the effort I suppose lol On Your Mat is going great, she's even taken to hanging out on it of her own accord which is cool. We did some generalising today after I added the cue, I did standing at the door, sitting on the couch, walking into the loungeroom to the door and pointing at the mat, asking her to go 'on your mat'. She did exceptionally well. My partner is away in Melbourne so when he gets back we'll start building up to having him come out of the office (he works from home), asking her to go OYM and then requiring a stay like I do. All broken down into little steps of course. Then we can work on one of us knocking on the door so we can proof proof proof. We also started BAT tonight (after I spent hours waging war with the printer. My loungeroom now looks like there was a tornado in the Reflex factory) near the local dog park. She would notice the trigger, I waited for a good choice like a head turn, marked it with a yes and then jogged off happily away from the trigger as her functional reward. She got a bonus reward after that. It didn't take too long for us to walk closer to the dog park but I made sure not to over do it and push her over threshold. Tomorrow I'm going to go out early and do some BAT work by the local school. Looking forward to it! Edited February 10, 2015 by Better Late Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simply Grand Posted February 11, 2015 Share Posted February 11, 2015 BL, it sounds like you're doing fantastically with Bonnie, good on you BAT type stuff was/is really helpful for Riley, teaching him that he has the option to move away when he's uncomfortable has really boosted his confidence and he is much more relaxed around other dogs. I find now the key is making sure he doesn't get overwhelmed so if he ends up in amongst a group of dogs (obviously Bonnie won't be at the stage to be in that position yet) I still step in and go and guide him out. As far as holding onto them on lead, are you guys using harnesses of some sort? (hd, I know you do). I have Quinn on an EasyWalk front attach harness and it makes a really big difference to her strength on lead. I've also done quite a bit with head collars on shelter dogs in training but I'd be careful with those if the dog throws itself around a lot. Ideally I'd use a double ended lead and have one end attached to the harness and one to the collar, holding it closer to the harness so that's what I have control over, with the collar as a backup in case they slip the harness. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hankdog Posted February 11, 2015 Share Posted February 11, 2015 (edited) I have Jake on the ruff wear webmaster and I must say its given me so much more confidence. He cannot get out of it and I'm more prepared to take him on because I know it. Front attach just slid off but then he's an odd shape. The harness is attached at my waist and I hold his martingale collar leash. If I were to slip or die at least he is anchored to me. Jake always has a slightly different take on what he's supposed to learn. I taught him to go on the mat and he got massive rewards for putting his head down on his paws. Now he uses this position to "check out" so if he has had enough of training or he doesn't want to do something then he lies down and puts his head on his paws. He's a funny little soul, Jake doesn't do what Jake doesnt want to do. He has about a twenty five minute attention span and after that it's no go. You could wave a fillet steak in his face he wouldn't care. You can leash him up and drag him, he just goes jellybones and the next time you try do whatever it was you got no chance. I love my Norty dog but I know when I'm beat???? Edited February 11, 2015 by hankdog Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BC Crazy Posted February 11, 2015 Share Posted February 11, 2015 (edited) So pleased Hankdog that you are liking your Ruffwear harness. Glad it has given you a confidence boost as well. I love ours as well. I only use ours in winter when we bush walk but I too feel very safe that Stella can't hodini out of it. The handle on the top is very handy when we are scurrying over rocks etc Stella is rocketing along at the moment. I have stepped up my leadership skills & am trying to appear a lot more confident around Stella than I truly am. I'm not fussing as much. I am not taking ANY nonsense at all. Stepped up my assertiveness. I am staying much more calm & I think it is really paying off. She is behaving so much better, even on lead. Quietly I'm wrapped ☺ I come home & collaspe but shhhh she doesn't need know ???? Edited February 11, 2015 by BC Crazy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hankdog Posted February 11, 2015 Share Posted February 11, 2015 (edited) Haha got to be careful, I'm pretty sure Jake reads DOL, maybe he and Stella text each other to come up with new evil schemes. Actually last week after the rain we were walking along, he stepped on the concrete lid of a manhole. The rain must have damaged the side because suddenly I was looking at a little bulldog head poking out the ground. He'd gone perpendicular down and his collar just slid off, I was very glad about that handle. It wasn't particularly deep but he was quite wedged. The weirdest things happen to Jake. Edited February 11, 2015 by hankdog Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grumpette Posted February 11, 2015 Share Posted February 11, 2015 Oh poor Jake. He is right, the Universe is against him Dee came to water rescue two weekends ago and did brilliantly. She had a beautiful brown female Newfie come up to her, but instead of snapping or biting, she turned her head away and looked at me. I was so rapt and proud that I gave her a cheese le snack as a reward. Then, walking to the local market last weekend, we saw a male Labrador up ahead with the owners talking to some people. We approached on a short lead with her watching. They said that their dog was friendly, and it was a male. Dee is usually great with large male dogs, so I allowed her to meet and greet. She did the usual sniff, moved to the side, then snapped at him. No contact. No aggression. Some days I just do not understand her. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BC Crazy Posted February 11, 2015 Share Posted February 11, 2015 (edited) Yes Hankdog wouldn't out it past our 2 . Gosh what a freaky thing to happen. Lucky poor Jake wasn't injured & you were able to make great use of the handle on your harness. He would be no light weight to maneuver either I would imagine. Like doing a weights workout at the gym :p Grumpette that's the key thing that I can never figure out with Stella as well. Her randomness. We can walk past dog after dog without incident but then wham!!! she will react & have a dummy spit over one in particular... go figure! Edited February 11, 2015 by BC Crazy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Better Late Posted February 11, 2015 Share Posted February 11, 2015 What a shit morning. Started off well with a bit of BAT and then fell to pieces when we rounded the corner to find a woman and a lovely looking young (and not obese!) Lab heading in our direction. Thankfully no cars were coming so we crossed the road and she proceeded to tie herself in knots and rip my shoulder out of its socket going off her head, then it was a concrete truck, a man in his garden, a man in hi vis, the postie, other dogs, and of course as soon as we get home the delivery man comes and we're back to square one. Very, very over this morning and we are going to get a local trainer to come out and see us regularly as we need the help and I can't do it all on my own, as much as we love Nek she's two hours away. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BC Crazy Posted February 12, 2015 Share Posted February 12, 2015 (edited) Oh shite BL. Totally understand where you are coming from. Breathe!!!!! I have been exactly where you are more times than I care to remember with Stella. Great idea to get some professional help. Just a quick thought. If you are approaching a situation that you think may bring Bonnie undone. Do a U turn & walk swiftly in the opposite direction. This works for us. It may take you longer to get where ever you are going but it will save your arm from getting ripped out of it's socket & Bonnie unravling. Edited February 12, 2015 by BC Crazy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Better Late Posted February 12, 2015 Share Posted February 12, 2015 Funny you should reply BCC as I just got back inside from my 'getting back on the horse' session! A few strong cups of tea sorted me out I think :p She was antsing for a walk so I thought bugger it, I've spent the better part of my day reading Grisha Stewart material so time to put it to use. There is a huge open area out the back of my house so we ventured out. I had a neighbour laugh at her reaction to a sudden cat, kids avoid her, BUT we started getting some really good choices once I got her away from the kids and under threshold (she hates scooters). Good choices with a person walking past, then a man with a dog came trundling along. She was fine for the first few choices, then she must have got a bit too deep in the water and the hysterics started. Thankfully he had his dog on leash and was probably just shaking his head at this crazy woman and her batshit dog, but I managed to capture a few good behaviours to get us further away. Did some loose leash stuff until suddenly the man with the dog came back, and I tell you what her reaction was extinction burst and then less, and less, and less, and less. She was starting to understand that she could make the choice, but I suppose her behaviours are so ingrained she just can't help herself. She was even turning around to get another look at the dog, and then turning away of her own accord without making a sound in the end. I'm glad I went out, I suppose it really is like riding a horse. If you fall off you just have to pick yourself up, remount and off you go. We will get there! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hankdog Posted February 12, 2015 Share Posted February 12, 2015 Try teaching the behavioural interrupter, it's on k9pro website courtesy of Steve Courtney. That and your emergency u turn will get you out of trouble. Practice it heaps while you're out and about, it helps your crazy dog lady reputation no end for people to see you suddenly zing around and make off at speed for no apparent reason. I see in Neks post on Rocky that he's better if full of food. I'm goingcto try giving Jake a bit of kibble before his morning walk to see if it helps. I know I'm cranky and more anxious if I'm hungry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BC Crazy Posted February 12, 2015 Share Posted February 12, 2015 I have 2 of the fastest "U" turner's in the business. Even off leash I just spin around & both my guys turn & run with me on cue in the opposite direction. Saved many an issue ☺ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simply Grand Posted February 12, 2015 Share Posted February 12, 2015 (edited) U turns and other sudden direction changes are such great tools to have because they do so many things at once - takes the pressure of decision making away from the dog (and gives a worried owner a plan of action), moves the dog away from the stimulus, the sudden change interrupts the dog's thinking, unpredictable behaviour from you focuses the dog's attention back to you, following you gives an easy opportunity for you to highly reward a good behaviour. Great thing to use ETA I use sudden direction changes with lots of enthusiastic praise during play time at dog parks with Quinn to keep her engaged with me so that I remain the most exciting thing to her, as soon as I start doing unpredictable movements you can see her switch into excited, focus mode so it's worth practicing in those more relaxed times as well so it's not associated only with stressful situations. Edited February 12, 2015 by Simply Grand Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hankdog Posted February 12, 2015 Share Posted February 12, 2015 Ha one day I'm going to video Jakes excited mode. It's hilarious you can see his left eyebrow change angle. That's it. Some days I do miss having a normal dog. Today as I was leaving my veggie patch I saw two youngsters with a dog coming towards me. U turn using my interrupter noise (tongue clicking) straight through the gate and down the hill. No looking back and a potentially nasty situation didn't happen. Most useful tool I have. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simply Grand Posted February 12, 2015 Share Posted February 12, 2015 Hahaha, I can just picture Jake being excited - monotone, eyebrow up, standing there staring: "I am Jake, I am excited. The end" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BC Crazy Posted February 12, 2015 Share Posted February 12, 2015 Giggle Hankdog. Please video Jakey boy, what a character. Left eyebrow angle, heard everything now ha ha. My guys have pretty much made a game of the 'U' turn thing like they do everything I teach them. When we do it they both jump around & bark with excitement. Unlike dear Jake you sure as hell know when my 2 are in excitement mode & so does everyone in a 3 k radius ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Better Late Posted February 13, 2015 Share Posted February 13, 2015 Just got back from a pretty good walk! it's going to storm here later so thought I'd strike while the iron was hot. Meandered up and down the driveway (we live in a court at the end of the street) doing some LLW and she responded super well to it. Got up to her favourite sniffing spot and suddenly we hear a dog bark, I turn around and there's the tiny little yappy thing of a neighbour. INITIATE EMERGENCY UTURN! The dog disappeared but we ended up doing some great BAT work near the house where she knew it has come from, and the walk ended with her turning away from a walker some yards off and trotting home happily, looking back at me with her tongue out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raineth Posted February 13, 2015 Share Posted February 13, 2015 Interesting to hear you guys talk about the emergency U-turn. I can only use this before Del sees the dog (or if the dog is far away enough for her not to be care) because Del actually finds having a dog behind her extremely nerve wracking (probably due to being attacked from behind) and I really think it is one of the reasons BAT only got us so far. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raineth Posted February 13, 2015 Share Posted February 13, 2015 Just got back from a pretty good walk! it's going to storm here later so thought I'd strike while the iron was hot. Meandered up and down the driveway (we live in a court at the end of the street) doing some LLW and she responded super well to it. Got up to her favourite sniffing spot and suddenly we hear a dog bark, I turn around and there's the tiny little yappy thing of a neighbour. INITIATE EMERGENCY UTURN! The dog disappeared but we ended up doing some great BAT work near the house where she knew it has come from, and the walk ended with her turning away from a walker some yards off and trotting home happily, looking back at me with her tongue out. well done Great work :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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