Just What We Needed

Posted on November 11, 2011 by Jamie

Trotting free!

With the date of our next rally trial fast approaching, I’ve been spending a lot of time working with Risa on her focus exercises. We’ve spent almost 2 months now working on focus at heel, fronts, and other rally behaviors. For two days straight, I struggled to get Risa’s attention at the start line of a rally course that I set up in my front yard. As I occasionally do, I started to get frustrated and couldn’t figure out why she was so inattentive when she’d been doing so well previously. I thought about what we were doing and how I could change things up a bit to get her more focused. But a different opportunity presented itself instead. I took Risa to the training site of the organization where I am a volunteer dog trainer. I doubled checked to make sure it was okay for us to drop by and decided that Risa needed some time to be a dog!

I started off by letting Risa run loose in the fenced in area. I made a promise that I would let her do whatever she wanted without me nagging her to stop sniffing or stop eating grass or telling her not to roll on that thing, whatever it is. There was only one exception: she wasn’t allowed to bark at any people walking by (it’s not a habit I want her to practice). So Risa explored every corner, nook, and cranny of the area. She sniffed at smells, she raced around, she marked her turf. She ate a stick (which, I will admit, I tried to get her to stop doing but she raced away if I got too close to her prize). One of the founders of the program spotted us out there having fun and came over to chat. On his initial approach, Risa barked 2 or 3 times. I called out to her in a silly voice “Don’t bark at the people! Go say ‘Hi!'” After hearing her cue to go check someone out, she trotted over to the fence and got some petting through the fencing.

Easily navigating the makeshift dogwalk despite her lack of familiarity with this type of agility equipment.

After letting her have some dog time, I did some agility stuff with her. She took the bar jump a few times with ease. It’s been a while since we’ve done any jumping and I wanted to make sure she’d be ready come rally time. I also had her work on the makeshift dogwalk. She’s never done a dogwalk before but had little trouble going down. It was a bit harder for her to make it up the plank but she still was successful. There was little hesitation to try anything I asked of her, which was nice to see. Especially since the last two dogs I tried to get up and down that thing were extremely hesitant and I had to practically lure them the entire way. I didn’t even have food in my hand when I cued Risa.

I also worked on her recall while we were there. She was off sniffing in a pile of leaves when I cued “Ris! Here!” She whipped around and booked it right to me without hesitation. We haven’t worked on her recalls in a while and I can’t remember the last brand-new location where I cued her to race back to me. But she responded as if she didn’t struggle with recalls at all! I also tested her to see how much she is paying attention to me. When she got engrossed in a scent, I went and hid behind a picnic bench. I watched her head perk up and scan the area looking for me. When she was unsuccessful finding me that way, she took off in a fast trot looking for me. As soon as she saw me in the corner of her eye, she started running right at me. I rewarded her profusely and was happy to see she was paying attention to where I was even if it didn’t look like she was.

Then we trotted back to the car so that Risa could get some water. It was a beautiful day for November with temperatures in the mid 60s. Unseasonably warm and just a superb day for our outing. Once Risa had her fill, I clipped on her long line and we went for a walk in the huge open field. She was able to roam freely but I still had a back up in case she wanted to take off.

Risa performing an auto-check in while we were on our walk. That really surprised me. I hadn't expected her to be so attentive.

I was surprised to see Risa looking back at me to double check that I hadn’t vanished into the woods while we walked. Because she was being so good, I decided to drop the leash and let her walk free dragging her 20-foot line. She never wandered far from me and, if I needed her to wait for me or come back over towards me, the directional cues I use when she is off leash in our yard at home were just as effective there. That really surprised me. I even did two recalls in the field with her while she trotted around off leash. She didn’t race back to me quite as quickly as she had in the fenced in yard but I suspect that had more to do with her getting tired than anything else. 😉

All in all, it was a great day for both of us. And it was something we both needed. Risa needed a chance to be a dog and experience the world in her own way. I allowed her to satisfy her curiosity about things without me right there to back her up. I think she also needed a break from me harping on her about her focus and attention on me.

I did this for her but was surprised at how much I got out of it. This was a brand-new location for Risa and she walked around like she just needed to check everything out. Not like she was expecting the boogie man to jump out from behind the next corner. On top of that, she was extremely attentive to me with her fast recalls, auto check ins, and her quick realization that I had disappeared. It was nice to realize how much she does pay attention to me, that she trusts and relies on me, and that I can trust her too. Plus, I think we both needed a break from rally so that we could focus on what really matters: each other.

Posted in Agility, Free Time, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

The Good

Posted on November 10, 2011 by Jamie

It was a long journey from corrections on a prong collar to leisurely walks with a front-clip harness.

Despite numerous setbacks and still being unsure of what to do to help Risa, I never gave up. I constantly sought new information from friends, dog trainers, and books. We were making steady progress. I can remember the first day it really hit home. Risa was rushed by two off-leash dogs. I somehow managed to get them away but not before they upset Risa and she had a meltdown. As we walked away from the scene, I was a bag of nerves and could feel the adrenaline coursing through my veins. Within several steps, Risa’s leash was more slack. Instead of her pulling on the lead due to her heightened arousal level, she had calmed down quickly. I no longer had to wait several blocks before I could expect her to be calmed down. She had done it quicker than ever before. Progress, though slow, was being made.

The first thing I did that made a world of difference was to adjust my attitude. Just realizing that Risa behaved this way out of fear was enough. Instead of viewing her reactions as something negative that needed to be stopped, misbehavior on her part, I felt sorry for my dog. It’s incredibly difficult to be angry with someone for being afraid. It’s seems ridiculous! “Stop being SCARED! What is WRONG with you!?” While I couldn’t console her directly and tell her it would all be okay like I would if she were a human child, I did have to start showing her that there was nothing to be afraid of. Easier said than done. I had a lot of negative history to erase. I had to stop getting frustrated with her behavior. I had to stop anticipating negative things happening every time I saw another dog. (I used to get a sense of dread in my stomach every time a dog appeared. I knew what was about to happen and I know I sent a clear message to Risa every time I felt that rock growing in my gut.) I had to prove to Risa that she didn’t need to take things into her own paws. That I would protect her from the scary things in life.

Along with that, I started thinking happy thoughts when I saw other dogs. Instead of tightening up the leash and getting ready for the bad things, I started talking to Risa and saying “Oh look at that Boxer out for a walk.” Or “Oh that’s just Champ!” in a happy voice. If she had a reaction, I would often say something like “Oh he can be out on a walk too. Silly.” I did this for my benefit (it kept me from getting frustrated), Risa’s benefit (she could see I was not concerned), and for other people’s benefit (yes I know she looks aggressive but she’s not; just being silly). It was hard to see every challenge as a training event; a time to work and improve my dog’s behavior. My gut still clenches sometimes when we pass a dog even though we have far more non-events these days.

One of the biggest mental changes I had to make, however, was how I viewed our relationship. At the start, I was the alpha. Leader. What I said was law and ignoring me was a challenge to my authority. This put me in direct conflict with Risa a lot. I didn’t want our relationship to be so adversarial. Not to mention that thought process had helped get me into the mess I was currently in. I slowly changed my viewpoint from one of me being in charge to one where both parties’ opinions are considered. While I may want Risa to sit calmly as a dog walks by, sometimes that dog is too close. Or sometimes asking for Risa to remain stationary makes her feel too uncomfortable to comply. I started thinking long and hard about what I was asking her and realizing that, sometimes, I asked her for much more than she was ready to handle.

Walking with other dogs has been very therapeutic for Risa. She can be around her own kind without needing to interact face-to-face.

I also switched our equipment. While I only used a prong for a short while, I didn’t like walking her on a flat collar either knowing she was likely to lunge. I felt the risk of her hurting herself was high and searched for an alternative. I ended up getting her an Easy-Walk harness. She didn’t need it for its intended purpose: helping a dog learn to walk on a loose leash. I liked it because it gave me more control over Risa’s body mass (which is concentrated in her chest). It also prevented her from hurting her neck if she lunged or when I needed to “Get her outta Dodge!” when she was in over her head. Once I felt I had more control over my dog, I was also able to relax more when we were on walks.

After reading Control Unleashed by Leslie McDevitt, I started implementing some “Look at That!” in our training. While I never broke it down into the steps outlined in the book, it still became incredibly useful. Whenever Risa saw a dog (but didn’t react to it), I clicked her and gave her a treat. Pretty soon, her head whipped around when she heard that click. As time went on, she would look at dogs and then turn to look at me as if to say “Did you see that I saw that dog?” Once she started doing that, I started clicking the looking back at me. I love LAT because it empowers the dog and gives them permission to acknowledge that scary thing. The handler isn’t trying to get and keep the dog’s focus while the dog worries about the scary thing they can no longer see.

I think one of the best things that ever happened to us, in regards to Risa’s reactivity training, was moving. Where we originally lived, it was pretty sparse and there weren’t a lot of dogs out and about. When we moved, it was to a crowded place on the east coast where we saw dogs daily. There was no avoiding it. Rather than see this as a potential for disaster, I saw it as an opportunity. I could work on Ris’ reactivity every day. We were bound to see improvement then!

So I brought treats with me on our walks. Every day. Rain or shine. Cold, frigid days where I could barely feel the treats between my fingers. I focused on classical conditioning: pairing something good with something bad. Whenever Risa saw another dog, I started shoveling treats into her mouth. It didn’t matter what she was doing. That dog appearing meant good things came her way. When the dog was gone, so were the good things.

Ideally, I would have kept Risa under threshold during these sessions but it didn’t always turn out that way. Even when she reacted, I tried to give her the treats. I also wasn’t as attentive to when she saw the other dog. I often gave treats as soon as I saw it. Still, despite not doing things exactly right, we saw progress. Good progress. I was able to taper off of the treats slowly without Risa regressing.

While she still has fears and issues in regards to other dogs, Risa has finally learned coping mechanisms that allow her to have fun with her own kind.

Once Risa became more comfortable seeing other dogs and had fewer reactive meltdowns, I felt more confident with her around other dogs. I was fortunate enough to have several friends who were willing to let their dogs be guinea pigs for Risa. We met up for several walks with various dogs. Despite her issues, Risa really seemed to enjoy walking with her own kind. Dogs could bump and jostle her and she was fine. They could race by off leash and she didn’t react. I allowed her to walk alongside as many dogs as I could. Each time she did, her confidence improved. Her ears became more relaxed and she looked more normal. We were even able to find a friend whose dogs became Risa’s best buddies. The three of them manged to get along very well considering 2 of the 3 had dog-to-dog issues. Knowing that all parties involved understood the risks and issues that the dogs had made it much easier if things went awry. Which they very rarely did. 😉 And, even when they had a bad day, there were no bad feelings afterward. The dogs were still friends despite it all (and so were the people!).

These days, Risa’s reactivity is pretty well-managed. It is not gone. It is, however, much less than it ever was. If she does react, it’s short and she recovers almost immediately. Sometimes, the reaction is so minor that you’d never know that’s what it was if you didn’t know her history. Instead of reacting on walks, Risa tends to offer calming signals as she passes dogs (lip licks, look aways, sniffing). I even catch her stretching her head in their direction trying to catch a whiff of them as we pass. 😉 I know she is curious about other dogs now but I find it difficult to indulge her curiosity. I would love to but know it wouldn’t take much for her to end up over her head, overwhelmed, and reacting negatively.

Despite our progress, I’m always seeking out new methods and ways to help her. I’ve recently started incorporating some behavior adjustment training (BAT) with her. It’s too soon to tell how well it’s working but I like the idea of having another way for her to feel in control of her world. That offering eye contact or a calming signal is just as effective as a barking, lungefest in making other dogs go away.

It’s been a long journey but one I wouldn’t trade for the world.

Posted in BAT (Behavior Adjustment Training), Classical Conditioning, Fear, LAT (Look at That), Reactivity, Training, Training Devices | Leave a comment

The Bad

Posted on November 9, 2011 by Jamie

Feeling a bit more comfortable around other dogs. . .but there were still problems.

Finally, the lightbulb went off. I spoke to several online friends who had experienced similar behaviors with their dogs. One recommended I read Fiesty Fido by Patricia McConnell. I ordered it immediately and started trying to implement some of her suggestions. Another suggested Scaredy Dog by Ali Brown. As soon as I started reading the lightbulb went on. Risa acted out the way she did because she was afraid. It was so obvious I couldn’t believe I hadn’t realized it sooner. Risa was afraid. She lashed out at other dogs because she was terrified and wanted them to stay away. In an instant, I no longer felt angry and frustrated with her. I felt pity. I had no idea she was so scared. My mindset in regards to her abhorrent behavior changed. That alone, made things better.

That’s not to say Risa’s behavior made an instant turnaround. Far from it. We weren’t even a year into our journey. But my attitude changed. I became more proactive because I knew she just wanted other dogs to stay away. I no longer got angry when she lashed out. I finally understood the why.

So I started taking her off the walking path and putting her in a sit FAR from the passing dog. Unfortunately, this was also unsuccessful. Having her sit seemed to give her more time to load up and then release her fear in a lunging fury. Even when there was distance between her and the other dog, it still wasn’t enough.

I implemented turn arounds but they didn’t help much either. Sure, we got away from the other dog but there was no easy way to get back the way we were going. Most of the places we walked were sort of uni-directional. Plus it was only a band-aid. It still didn’t address the problem.

I had realized early on in our time together that Risa was more attentive at high speeds. So I started running past other dogs with her (she was on the opposite side of me from the dog for safety). While this did decrease the amount of time she had to be close to the other dog and gave her a bit of an outlet in regards to her stress, it didn’t stop the reactions. Not to mention I felt silly doing it and it had the potential to overstimulate the dog we were passing. Having another reactive dog going off while I was trying to rehabilitate mine was not something I had planned on attempting yet.

Living in an apartment was like a living hell for a reactive dog. There was no way to get away from the possibility of seeing other dogs. Especially in tight spaces!

One of the things mentioned in Scaredy Dog (and many other reactive dog rehabilitation books) that I was unable to try was isolating your dog from her stressors for 2 weeks. It was simply impossible. I lived on the third floor of an apartment building filled with other dogs. No matter what time I took her out to potty, it was highly likely we’d run across a dog. Risa was also an extremely active 3-year old who needed long walks and lots of activity. Something I couldn’t give her indoors. Whether outside in the courtyard or in the cramped hallways. I couldn’t avoid her triggers. I couldn’t let her body’s stress levels go back to zero. I was forced to work with her as is.

I took her to Petsmart and rewarded her for looking at me instead of reacting to other dogs. I started turning and walking away if she got over threshold rather than just standing there and letting her have a meltdown. But I still wasn’t getting the success I wanted. She still became a spinning, barking, lunging fool at the sight or sound of other dogs. Dogs walking across the street. Dogs barking at her from balconies at our apartment complex. Dogs waiting outside the elevator that I didn’t even know were there until she exploded. I still hadn’t found the answer.

When she lunged at other dogs during classes, I put her in time outs. I would remove her from the situation and ask her for a down/stay. After a couple minutes, I would release her and we’d go back to whatever we were doing. While this may work for some dogs, it did nothing to help Risa. Not to mention it caused me great frustration which, as we all know, is problematic when it comes to dog training.

I kept reading more and more about how to work with dog reactivity. I came upon a new idea from a person who follows drive training. A way for me to be an outlet for Risa’s pent up stress and frustrations. I made a small tug toy out of fleece and started bringing it with me on walks. When we saw another dog, I asked her to play tug with me. We’d play tug as we walked past the other dog. I always made sure Ris’ leash was short and that we were far away from the other dog. I saw some progress with this method but it had its faults. Firstly, Risa will not play in a location that is too stressful. Secondly, she is a resource guarder around other dogs so I had to be careful. Thirdly, there were times she would let go of the tug and lunge at the other dog anyway (which is why I kept the leash short!). Finally, a tugging dog can be too arousing for other dogs watching which I didn’t think was fair to the other handler. We still needed to find a proper, workable solution. . .

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The Ugly

Posted on November 8, 2011 by Jamie

If only I'd understood canine body language better in the beginning. I would have understood Risa's fears much sooner.

The other day, I was thinking about all the things I tried over the years to improve Risa’s reactivity around other dogs. Some of the things I tried were ‘ugly’ and I wish I hadn’t done them at all. Others were ‘bad’ in that they just didn’t work for us. Finally, I discovered several ‘good’ ones that shaped our journey and helped Risa be the dog she is today. One who has learned to cope with situations that used to cause her incredible distress.

This entry is going to detail the ‘ugly’ things I did. I’m actually quite ashamed about much of what I did. But, at the time, I honestly did not know any better. I was completely clueless on how to train my dog to behave appropriately. I must remember that Risa was my first dog; I had little experience training basic behaviors like sit and shake let alone rehabilitating a dog with behavioral issues. I am simply fortunate that 1) I didn’t do the ‘ugly’ things for long and 2) I realized the ‘ugly’ things did not work and was desperate to find a better way.

When I first brought Risa home, I knew she was a fearful dog. Her desperate pulls to avoid going anywhere near the poop disposal can were proof of that. The shelter, however, had told me that she was good around other dogs. I had no reason to believe otherwise.

The problem started off small. Several off leash dogs rushed over to check Risa out while we were on walks. I had no idea what to do if an off leash dog approached mine (and I honestly still struggle with this problem). So I simply let the dog greet Risa. Nothing bad happened as far as I could see. Unfortunately, I had little knowledge of the finer points of dog body language. I had the equivalent of my first year of Spanish in middle school. A basic understanding but lacking the finer points and intricacies. I didn’t realize that Risa’s stiff body posture was indicative of her discomfort. The fact that she didn’t greet the other dog at all never even crossed my mind as a red flag. So other dogs continued to greet Risa. Risa continued to be uncomfortable. Even though she was being quite clear about how stressful these situations were, I was oblivious. She soon realized that Mom would not keep the scary dogs away and began to take things into her own paws.

Risa had a doggy friend she felt comfortable with. Though it took a month for him to convince Risa that they could play together. I had no idea she was so afraid of dogs.

Pretty soon, Risa started lunging and snapping at other dogs. I actually made things even worse at the start. I had heard many people put their dogs into sit/stays when dogs walked past. So I used to do just that with Risa. I would see a dog coming, cue her to sit, and wait for the dogs to pass. Unfortunately, many of the dogs did not simply continue on past us. Most of them came right over to Risa who, eventually, snapped at them. I unintentionally created more conflict for Risa who just wanted to be left alone. I asked her to maintain position in a situation where her instincts told her to run. Things got worse.

I honestly had no idea why my dog behaved this way. I had very little experience with dogs who had issues. Almost every dog I had known growing up was a perfectly fine canine citizen. Though I knew Risa was fearful, I never connected her lashing out at other dogs with fear. I simply knew that the behavior was unacceptable. People were starting to give me dirty looks about my ‘bad’ dog. I was embarrassed to be seen in public with her. Walks became less and less fun. They became a source of great frustration and stress for both of us. I started correcting her for reactive lunges. This turned out to be a huge mistake. Firstly, the corrections did not stop the behavior. Secondly, coupling corrections with owner frustration is never a good idea. Our relationship hit a very dark spot. I was not having fun with my dog. I used to come home from walks in tears because I was completely at a loss. I needed to know what to do but no one seemed to have any answers. . .

Posted in Fear, Reactivity, Training | 4 Comments

Think For Yourself

Posted on October 24, 2011 by Jamie

While I can cue Risa to look at me, I'd much rather just have her offer it on her own. So I heavily reward eye contact; it has become a default behavior for Risa.

I know I’ve mentioned this in a previous blog entry, but there are several behaviors I train without verbal cues. The main reason I do this is because I like Risa to be able to think on her own without input from me. Sometimes, I am not around and I want the behavior to still be there. One of these behaviors is waiting at doors. I don’t cue a wait before opening a door. The door opening is the cue for her to wait until she is released to leave. When training the puppy, Callie, I want her to sit near the door before it’s opened and wait until I release her to leave. I don’t cue her to sit. I just wait for her to do so. Once she does, I open the door and give her her release cue. Because both of them have had to figure out what they need to do to get what they want (going outside), the behavior is stronger. It also exists independent of myself. My parents can open the doors and Risa will not exit without permission. I have even been downstairs at my parents’ house and come upstairs to find the front door propped open while my dad was working on it. Where is Risa? Inside and not even considering dashing out the front door.

Another behavior I like to teach without a cue is ‘leave it.’ That’s not to say I don’t find value in having the verbal cue as well. It is also a good idea to have a verbal cue. But I like to begin without a cue. I just like to have food on the ground and reward the dog for ignoring the food. Once the behavior is really strong, I would start adding in a verbal ‘leave it.’ Initially, however, I like to have the dog figure out that pulling and lunging towards the food on the ground will never get them the food they so desperately want. I want them to learn that the best way to get food is to ignore that food. By teaching them to think for themselves, it’s likely that they may choose to ignore food they find while on a walk without me needing to be constantly on alert and ready to cue them to ‘leave it’ should they find something enticing.

With eye contact as a default behavior, I can feel more confident with Risa around other dogs.

I find Risa’s ability to make the right decisions on her own the most helpful when it comes to her dog reactivity. It is exhausting being proactive. Scouting out an area in advance. Designing escape plans. Looking out for other dogs. Watching the other dog and their handler to determine whether they’re likely to try and invade Risa’s space or not. Watching Risa’s body language to determine whether or not I need to move her further away before we get too close to the dog. I would like to be a little more lazy and not have to be so on top of her every single time we’re out together. So I spend a lot of time rewarding her for making good choices. Looking away, sniffing, increasing distance on her own, giving me eye contact, or showing curious behaviors are all things I like seeing her do. All of these things are excellent alternatives to barking, snarling, lunging, or spinning in circles like a fool. Because she has been rewarded a lot for these behaviors, she offers them often. So, if I manage to be caught off guard by another dog, it’s more likely Risa is going to offer one of these acceptable options rather than melt down into a full blown reaction.

I’ll also admit that I enjoy having a free-thinking dog. While it certainly can create some less than ideal moments (like when she tried to do serpentines in rally when they were actually spirals), I wouldn’t trade it. I really value having a dog who can make the right decisions on her own.

Posted in Fear, Reactivity, Training | Leave a comment