Exercising Reactive Dogs Thread

[Simply Grand]

Thanks PK :) I'm amazed actually at how well Molly is doing (which is dumb because I know the training I've been doing with her works but I guess I didn't quite believe it). I think it has been reassuring just having someone who knows what they're talking about assess her.

Yesterday we went for a walk with me walking Molly and the VB walking Quinn (they've been completely separated since the first couple of weeks coz they were fighting) and they were totally fine! They had one bout of yelling at each other early on when they stared at each other but then they settled and by the end of the walk they could walk next to each other and Molly made a couple of attempts to sniff Quinn.

The VB said that she thinks Molly has accepted that it's ok for Quinn to be the boss, which is great because that's what was causing the fights (Molly not backing down to Quinn).

It was interesting coz by the end Molly was the most relaxed I've ever seen her when out and I wonder whether she actually quite liked having another more confident dog on her "team".

She's much more relaxed around Saxon too I've discovered. She got to the point where as soon as she saw him she was trying to get at him to attack, even when i was carrying him so they've been completely separate as well but now she can look at him and stay relaxed, and she even lay down and chilled with Saxon near her in a crate.

[Simply Grand]

Congrats to you and Malcolm too PK, great progress on the relaxation protocol. Fingers crossed the Clomicalm helps.

[Two Best Dogs!]

Great job SG and PK!

How is Mr Justice? He looks pretty happy on Instagram.

We had a good and bad day. The bad was my fault, Thistle was saying hello to a lovely poodle. It started out well enough, sniffing each other's butts and all relaxed. Then Thistle went to say hello to the owner and the poodle started jumping on her head. She went stiff and moved her head away but the poodle kept being frantic. I should have called her then and there but I hesitated for some reason (i don't know why) so she had a go at the poodle when it kept jumping on her.

It was one of those loud but no contact ones but easily split apart. We calmed them down, I apologised for not calling T away faster and they apologised for the frantic face jumping. Just...a personality clash?

So I'm bummed out at myself for not recognising that. I know she doesn't like having her head jumped on! I should have called away while she was still winning and calm!

But later at school thistle was in 10m drop stay and the same poodle had broken and ran up to her. I called her and she didn't even hesitate, came running to me! I ran backwards to encourage it and fell back on to my butt but kept calling her and she ran right into my arms. Worth the keys on my butt. Think I broke the clicker landing on it. I'll see if duct tape can help us out.

We have also finally graduated from intermediate 3 to... 3.5 ???? A new class as of next week for dogs who are almost advanced level. Good timing, today is our anniversary of starting intermediate 3 ????????

mostly I feel I am getting better at recognising a dog scuffle for fair enough reasons versus worried reactivity. So both our emotional states better afterward (dogs forgive so easily!) but I still need to be more consistent and proactive in recognising her being uncomfortable ????

[skip]

Yes, the over excited jumping on head won't impress my Kelpie either. Greetings with her have to be quick unless I can be sure she likes the dog .

Sounds like your dog is lucky to have you.

[Two Best Dogs!]

Thanks Skip, thistle was perfectly fine to get snarky at the head jumping I reckon. She was trying to say hello to the owner. Bummed out at myself for not recognising the potential for an upset!

Hopefully they can have some driveby short sniffs next week to smooth over any last misgivings. She got the same kind of cranky with ralphie and now they're bffs (once he stopped the head jumping)

Must remember she really really doesn't like having her head jumped on!

[Papillon Kisses]

Better relationships, happier animals: a short free training series

http://illis.se/en/better-relationships-happier-animals/

[Simply Grand]

I think I've probably undone all our good work this week, being busy and distracted I've not once but twice done a stupid slip and ended up first a Molly vs Quinn fight (fortunately Quinn in crate so they couldn't get hold of each other really but someone drew blood from someone) then, running late this morning and needing to leave the house ready for an inspection, a full brawl between all four

Fortunately I somehow managed to get the two girls separated, after nearly strangling Molly with her collar, and when they started listening to me the two little ones got out of range but it was scary for a minute there.

Interestingly up until today I thought Molly would win in a fight but after Quinn's performance today I'm not so sure. I will try very very hard to avoid putting them to the test again.

It's always been a big part of my concern thought, I know that the longer I have Molly the more the chance of these slips increases

On the positive side, I do think Molly is calmer and more confident in general now, she is doing well with human strangers and is more relaxed out in public. She has been able to watch Saxon wandering around while Molly has been tied up too over the last few days so I'm hoping she can still move forward.

Sigh... Wine time now!

[Two Best Dogs!]

Oh no SG, very definitely some wine time!

[Two Best Dogs!]

Didn't growl at head trainer today, even though he had moved into <1m of her and was smoking.

She got all treats in my training bag for that.

She also did a trick for someone yesterday. Usually she won't even sit for others, so that was nice :)

Baby steps.

[Simply Grand]

Good girl Thistle :) All forward steps are good ones!

Molly surprised the heck out of me this afternoon, I was out in the back yard with her and the neighbours 1 year old entire male Buddy came up to the fence/gate between the front and back yard (he does this all the time, he's constantly out roaming and likes to visit us...part of the ongoing fun of my crazy neighbours' household).

Molly seemed interested in meeting him so I took her over to the fence and she seemed to love him!! Friendly greeting, no tension, relaxed tail wag, sideways body, greeting sniffs... and even when Buddy got a bit jumpy and whiney wanting to come in and play she stayed happy. It is literally the best dog meeting I've ever seen from her!

I wish they could talk so she could explain why she is ok with Buddy but not pretty much all other dogs

[Papillon Kisses]

What lovely things to see SG & Thistle!

We are going ahead with Malcolm's SABS appointment as Clonidine didn't help / seemed to make him worse. Initially I thought it was helping but it seems it was just side effects preventing some behaviours.

However we had another reactive dog session yesterday and I was so pleased with how he went! He was thinking about things and made some great choices. At one point he even looked like he wanted to greet the other dog which is an extraordinarily rare behaviour. He walked closer and decided it was too much, but the desire seemed to be there! Now I just need to nail my handling skills.

[Papillon Kisses]

I've shared this elsewhere, but I think others here may like to here about it too... and I'm just a little pleased with my boy.

The other day Malcolm saw two dogs playing and instigated a game of LAT. I hadn't seen the dogs at all so at first I was confused about what was happening. We were under a tree, and I moved off to keep walking but he was just standing there looking to his left. And then his head snapped back to me with a look of joyful anticipation on his face! The dogs were exhuberant too which would usually add another layer of concern.

I am so excited about this. It has only been possible with the help of Corvus/Creature Teacher and the setups in her reactive dog classes. :)

Also it could be something else but I swear he's been seeking out dogs of late so he can play LAT.

I'm reminding myself of this fantastic response today as gosh he's having a shocker. Super reactive to wind, light switches, the mildest of movement, taps being turned on, minor sounds... gah! It must not be nice at all inside his head.

[Two Best Dogs!]

Aww yay! Great job!

[Papillon Kisses]

Thanks Thistle!

And THANK YOU Through A Dog's Ear albums. You are a life saver.

Peace and calm appears to have been restored... for now...

[Simply Grand]

Good news PK! It's so exciting when it clicks for them and they realise they have that power to choose a positive response when they are concerned about something :)

[Two Best Dogs!]

Did our first, real, proper Stand For Exam today!

I gave her lots of duck wing while the hand ran down her back. She was since first time someone done the full stroke in class, but didn't budge her feet or look overly worried!

Last week she asked the head trainer to scratch her butt. The male trainer :)

It is hot here so she is passed out on tiles while I hope it gets cool enough to quickly mow one of the yards.

I have successfully negotiated a fence replacement with the neighbours, which will make for an interesting couple of days! I might take the time off to do some distance BAT and manners minder while the fence is dismantled and replaced, if her confidence is willing. (versus locking her up in the house while I work)

[Simply Grand]

Yay Thistle! She's doing so well :)

I'm so conflicted about Molly. I took her to the dog park today (outside the fence only) for the first time in a few weeks and she did really well, interested in interacting with other dogs, appropriate greetings with several different dogs through the fence and no lungeing or snapping. Then right at the end she saw a big white dog (Pyrenean I think) inside the park, they looked at each other from a distance and then Molly freaked out. It seemed to be a fear reaction, she was jumping around and yelping and very worked up. Then the other dog ran at the fence and started barking and growling at her which of course got her even more worked up. I eventually got her calmed down once the other dog had been moved away but it took a while.

This is a whole new behaviour I haven't seen from her before. Which is OK for me, just another thing to be aware of, but both the fact that she's still showing new behaviours and the behaviour itself add to the complication of finding a suitable home for her...sigh

[Papillon Kisses]

SG maybe the duration of the exposure to dogs was too long for Molly? http://suzanneclothier.com/understanding-thresholds-its-more-under-or-over

Edited December 14, 2016 by Papillon Kisses

[Simply Grand]

Thanks PK that's a really good article and explains threshold really clearly. I don't know that it was the case with the white dog, it was such a sudden and intense switch very specific to that dog.

She certainly does show at times that the intensity is getting too much for her, you can see her body language change as her arousal levels increase. It can be quick but not like it was on that occasion.

I had her outside the fence at the dog park again today and she was bloody perfect! Multiple greetings though the fence, nice sniffing, walking along together, no lunging or snapping, no overly night arousal watching the other dogs run and play, and even standing calmly watching three small dogs playing in the small dog side.

I'm cutting back on the treats and feedback I'm giving her for doing LAT to some degree to gauge howshe is going making decisions for herself and the last few days she has been great. I've seen her progress then go backwards before though so we'll see.

My next step is to get someone else to handle her without giving them too much direction, to test how she goes without me guiding her, because it's all well and good her being great with me but she has to be able to transfer it, not need to go through another six months work with someone else to get to where she is with me.

[Simply Grand]

We went to a different dog park today, that we've checked out before when there were only one or two dogs there. It was busyish this arvo and we walked around the outside gradually getting closer to the fence line and ended up walking along quite happily with 3 or 4 other dogs walking alongside inside in the fence (like we were on a group walk, which I would love to do for real but don't have helpers). She also interacted with a small oodle, who was very interested in her and kept coming over to say hello. I wouldn't say Molly was wanting to play with him, more that she was focusing on doing what I've taught her (LAT and remaining calm) but she didn't do into super alert prey drive mode at all even when watching him chase a ball.

She was getting excited watching the other dogs running and wrestling but happy excited, wanting to join in playing and when it was down to just two large young dogs left in the park I let her have slightly longer interaction through the fence still and she was play bowing. She was also barking and clearly quite aroused though so I want to get her arousal more under self control before she gets actual play. I feel like she has that level of excited play arousal that could tip over to aggression in a split second.

I was right at the point of saying to the group she needs to be put to sleep but she seems to have started moving forward again so I'll give her some more time...