How To... Stop Your Dog From "losing Their Head"

[Pretty Miss Emma]

I need some ideas please. The best way I can describe it is as "losing their head", that is they go off and they just can't seem to hear to you or respond to you. How do you a) stop this from happening (yes, focus work is part of it, but what else)? b) if it does happen how do you get them to hear you and come back to you?

Kenz had a moment today where she just lost her head, she was being a bit of a lunatic and if she could hear me calling her there was absolutely no sign of it. She eventually did calm down and come back to me but no where near as fast I want and I don't want her to have done any of the things she did between losing focus on me and coming back to me. It was the environment that caused this - highly stimulating, a bundle of dogs started up a barking chorus (which is what took her focus off me) and then she just lost her head and anything moving grabbed her attention over me as did anything else that looked fun to her. We have been doing lots of work on staying with me, following me, focus and this hasn't happened in a looooong time - but I don't want it happening at all. Her reactive nature does not help, but that is getting much much better. Anyway, it left me very upset and I'm just wondering if anyone has some alternative ideas that I can try out with her.

[Tralee]

Hi PME

My big dog used to runoff lead and look like he would never return.

I changed his name to bikkie for the times I needed him and now he has comes and responds on command.

The puppy boy however is a completely different kettle of fish.

I have to preempt any problems, make him focus on me, and keep him responding for the duration of any issue that arises.

He is too eager to retaliate when dogs rush the fence when we are walking. If I can tap his shoulder before we get to the fence, remind him not to retaliate, and then march him past the offending dogs, he complies brilliantly. He needs to do without promting, but even the big dog gets annoyed with 'fence rushers'

[persephone]

Don't let her off lead where there is a possibility of this type of distraction ....she doesn't sound ready.

Keep up the praise/reward for being with you - remember ALL FUN/FOOD/ PLEASURE has its origins with YOU :) :)

[Pretty Miss Emma]

Snook I think you're on the right track with her going over threshold with her arousal levels. What sort of things have you done with Justice to work on controlling arousal levels? I think that is where I'm at a bit of a loose end. i guess to some extent is about her learning a bit more self control. So if anyone has some good self control games/training ideas... Hmm was there a thread about that recently also?

[Pretty Miss Emma]

Don't let her off lead where there is a possibility of this type of distraction ....she doesn't sound ready.

Keep up the praise/reward for being with you - remember ALL FUN/FOOD/ PLEASURE has its origins with YOU :) :)

We are so rarely off lead for this reason Pers. Today was a different situation and it was required, just crappy that the environment didn't help me out!

And your second point - that's almost becoming my mantra!!!! And certainly her improvement has been brilliant, I guess I'm just frustrated because there is so much brilliance and then this happens - then it feels like we're heading back to where we've come from (and I know that maybe that probably isn't so true, but it feels like it at the time).

[JulesP]

I wouldn't call her. I would go get her. I would put her on the lead and do a very intense series of exercises to get her focus on me. I would be fairly Sargent Majorish about all this. There would be no treats.

I tend to yell out stop or wait btw rather then a recall. This seems to penetrate quicker. The breed maybe. Then call back if you have attention or go get.

Best though is to learn to catch them prior to them 'losing their head'. You have a short period of time (seconds) were you can usually see that it is going to happen. Call back then or ask for drop, wait, stop etc

[corvus]

Read Control Unleashed. This book is designed for helping with this exact problem and is full of techniques. I use most of them on a daily basis with Erik, who winds up at the drop of a hat but has always had trouble winding down again. He is SO much better now than he was as a youngster. Now it takes a minute or two for him to wind down after something very exciting, but a couple of years ago it would take him hours. And now he will often stay under threshold in situations where before he would have lost it. It's just a matter of practicing a lot. Practicing calming down, practicing staying calm, practicing responding to you when there are competing stimuli, and practicing things that help your dog keep their head on. If you have a reactive dog, even only a little bit reactive, the foundation skills in CU will be tools in your belt when you least expect you will need them.

It feels pretty awesome when you have your reactive dog under such solid verbal control that you can let them off leash in stimulating environments and be confident that no matter what happens you will be able to get their attention if you need it. Erik is at the point now where he will literally come and find me if he sees something that unsettles him while he's off leash. It's so strong it's like a lifeline for him. Even if he's having a look and my partner calls him, he will seek to touch base with me. I've had him turn and run 20m back to me because he unexpectedly found himself too close to something that bothered him. Considering his natural response is to bark and rush at it, this is a pretty big achievement. The bottomline to CU is to turn environmental stimuli into cues to orient to you. Erik is proof that it certainly works, even over decent distances. The best thing about it is it doesn't depend on you always noticing trouble before they do. I've been surprised before having Erik come and touch base and start LAT over something I didn't even realise he was bothered about. It's a big help with these dogs that can be a bit unpredictable. They'll tell you if today is the day they are bothered by something they have in the past been fine with.

[sheena]

Agree with the others....LAT has been my saviour That & lots & lots of recall training with very high reinforcement levels. I am now teaching my motion reactive girl to come to a whistle & it is working well. A sports whistle that is, which I carry around my neck when we go for walks.