The Skateboard: Fozzie's Next Frontier

After 3 years of persistent work with treats and all sorts of techniques for working with reactive dogs, Fozzie has been slowly making discernible progress with staying calm in the presence of other dogs.

When we see other dogs on trails or neighborhood walks, where once Fozzie would have lunged, barked, and trembled at first sight, now he can sometimes keep himself together. He can accept treats and refrain from barking as long as the dog is at a reasonable distance, isn't also reacting, and isn't a large, pointy eared dog like an Akita or a Malamute.

He still trembles and gets very excited, and if we don't have time to prepare and a dog appears near us suddenly, Fozzie still puts on quite the display--so we still have work to do on Fozzie's responses to other dogs.

With skateboards, I'm afraid we have even more work to do. For some reason the combination of the sound and the sight of a person, upright and looking like a person in most ways, but moving in a way that is so unbelievably strange, is too much for our poor boy. 















So we are trying to set up practice opportunities for skateboard reactivity too. 

Fortunately, Florian enjoys the opportunity to get on a skateboard in front of our house and zoom around while I give Fozzie high-value treats.
















Still, even when Florian pets him beforehand, gets on the skateboard in front of him, and then skates off slowly, Fozzie still barks and lunges, and snatches the treats with none of his customary gentleness.  

It's funny, because Fozzie can stand on the skateboard himself and even move with it a bit, but once someone else is on it he just can't keep his cool. 

I am going to try just going out on the skateboard by myself with Fozzie, moving it around just enough to make the skateboard noise and delivering organic raw salmon treats.

With enough repetition of that, I don't see how we could fail to make progress.

 Or maybe it's just time Fozzie go on doggie Prozac! 

Impulse control for the fence barker

I recently went to a seminar sponsored by Your Dog's Friend on impulse control, which as you know is one of my favorite topics. I learned some useful tidbits!  

Like this: did you know that when a dog shakes himself off, it's one sign that he is shifting from hindbrain mode to forebrain mode--in other words, into a state where he can once again think and learn?

When I think of all the times when Fozzie reacts and barks and lunges at another dog when we see one on our leash walks, and then, when the dog is past, shakes out and then looks up at me, it makes perfect sense.

The other really useful thing was a little primer on what to do about the fence barker. 

The dog who, like Fozzie, goes absolutely nuts running along the fence line and yodeling up a storm when the poor mailman comes by, or when our friend with the huskies walks past. 

Why not try this:

• Go outdoors with the dog on a leash. 
• Do some structured attention work with the dog while no triggers are present.  At a time other than mailtime or husky walk time, call the dog's name and give a treat when he looks at you. Do the Watch Me game: Hold a treat out to your side, and wait til the dog looks away from the treat and into your eyes--then click and deliver the treat. Do some Sits, Waits, and Hand Targeting. 
• Do this in your front yard, or wherever the dog does his fence barking, for a few minutes every day for a few days.
• Then go out with dog on leash when you know there are going to be some triggers, like just before the mailman comes. Start getting some calm attention and eye contact with treats. 
• Then its just like you would do with your reactive dog exercises during a leash walk. When the mailman comes, and your dog becomes aware of him--but is not yet flipping out and straining to get at him--say "Look at that!" then click and treat. 
• Your dog may not be able to look at you at this level of excitement, but if he does, great. If not, stick the treat right in front of his mouth. Back up to just inside your doorway, or some other location farther away from the mailman. 
• If your dog starts flipping out immediately when he sees the mailman, just say "whoops!" and bring your dog back inside.
• As you practice presenting treats when the mailman comes each day--ideally, at a point when your dog notices the mailman, but before he is freaking out about him--then he will become calmer and more able to process information over time. 

The process is really just like reactive dog training--working sub-threshold, doing open bar/closed bar desensitization and counterconditioning with the dog's triggers.  I just never thought of putting together a structured protocol in this way. Brilliant!

 




Do YOU have a fence barker, and a good way you've found to work with those less-than-desirable behaviors?

Leash Walk and Prey Drive Practice

In my ongoing journey of discovery with Fozzie, I often wonder just what exactly is his issue. Is it really what you'd call reactivity, as in the fear-based reactivity that is so often mistaken for aggression? When he sees certain dogs, like those huskies and like my sister's dog Genghis, who have big fuzzy heads and those menacing pointy ears and can't walk a step without having a conniption fit, I think that's a part of it.

Is it an excess of impulsiveness, and what you might even call joie de vivre? Just an irrepressible spirit that can't tolerate nutty contraptions like leashes, and the totally preposterous notion that a beast of such vitality could greet calmly and nicely? Does he just love other creatures too much to be calm about his feelings? When we see certain dogs and he shows signs of being excited, but not beside himself, and I allow him to approach and greet, and he does so with a sniff and a wag, I think that must be it.

Is it prey drive? When we come upon one of our many neighborhood cat friends, and Fozzie goes into a mad fit of lunging and barking, straining at the leash until I think I'll literally go flying through the air after him, I think that's his diagnosis.

I think Fozzie actually has a pretty complex personality, and that all these are probably true. I also think that he will learn new ways of being, and that he is already starting to understand that the sight of other creatures is no reason to completely lose his cool. 

We saw a neighbor dog on a recent walk, and I didn't have my treats, and there was no car to hide behind. 



So we used our "Whoops-backtrack!" technique, and approached the neighbor--who was talking to another neighbor, holding his calm leashed dog--then retreated when Fozzie and Lamar started to react, then approached, and retreated again, until we were able to walk past in relative calm. At least the dogs were calm; I was talking to them in my nutty falsetto ... it's a good thing my neighbors are understanding.

Another time recently, we had the opportunity to walk with our fellow trainer buddy Francine and a couple of the dogs she had that day. He had a few snarlies and lunges at the beginning, then was able to parallel walk with them for a few blocks.

And the other day--this was perhaps the most exciting--my beloved budgies Ingamar and Flower were in their cage with the door open, having just turned in from a day of flying around "their" room. Fozzzie came into the room, and instead of panicking and chasing him out of the room, I asked him to sit and wait. He stopped his progress toward the budgies, looked at me, smiled, and sat!


Which brings me to what I think is the root of my problem with Fozzie. Just like a nervous nellie dog owner who exacerbates all of her anxious dog's issues on the first day of reactive dog class by bringing her OWN issues to the table, I tend to panic and get all excited when Fozzie gets excited. If I could just be more consistent, firm, joyful, calm and clear in my messages to him, then he'd start to reflect those qualities as well. 

What do you think? Have you had any luck changing your own emotional responses, in order to better support your dog in sticky situations?

Leash attack solutions

When we first got Fozzie, my first indication that I had bitten off more than I could comfortably chew was when we went for a walk and his response to turning around and heading for home was to grab his leash and tug lustily, and not let go.

Two years later, this is still his response of choice when we see another dog and don't stop to meet it, or when we encounter humans who engage with me in any way, or sometimes just when he is in an energetic mood. 

I'm sure this is a manifestation of Fozzie's frustration with stopping and being on leash, his reactivity, his extreme desire to meet and greet and embrace everything and everyone he encounters, and maybe just his joie de vivre.

Though he's got a really good Drop It and Leave It in the house, when he's in this stimulating situation nothing can make him drop that leash. I'm sure that means that we just have to work harder on these skills in non- stimulating situations, but until we've done that I need some extra help.

The chain leash is the only thing I could think of for a while. Works, but heavy and uncomfortable to carry.

A while ago I saw a great suggestion by Kobipup: make your regular leash taste nasty to the dog. Her suggestion is apple cider vinegar, all over the leash. I imagine you could use bitter apple spray or Tabasco sauce too, or Chinese mustard if you had to.

We doused our leash in vinegar a few weeks ago, and at first it seemed Fozzie was much less likely to chomp. Perhaps he's gotten desensitized to the vinegar though, because he's back at it. Time for the Tabasco?

One trainer I worked with suggested having him on two leashes, and as soon as he grabbed the leash I was holding, dropping that one and taking the other. Fozzie's way too fast for that--he'd have both leashes in his mouth in no time.

Since Fozzie's leash attack madness results from his stimulation and stress, the most effective solution would be to just walk him singly, without the other dogs, who are definitely stressors. When I have time to do this, he is without doubt calmer.

As far as training, we need to just spend more time practicing. Meeting neighbors, shaking hands, talking, making eye contact with Fozzie as he sits. Approaching other dogs, backtracking if he gets tense, calmly walking past when possible. Going to Francine's classes and trying not to freak out. In the meantime, we just need to effectively manage the situation!

Fozzie's long-term prospects

I have been thinking for some time now that I won't always have to prepare for a walk with Fozzie like I'm going into a war zone, with multiple harnesses to keep him in check, a wrist brace to ensure I can withstand his lunging, a fat pouch of treats to arm us for the distractions to which he is so sensitive, and a mental state on hair-trigger alert for the possibility that we will encounter another dog, at which moment I usually gasp, reflexively utter something along the lines of "Oh crap," beg that the person give us a minute, and wrangle a tangled mass of jumping lunging barking dogs behind a car, bush, or house, or run in the other direction. 

Eventually, Fozzie will be 15 years old, arthritic, deaf, blind, or incapacitated in some way, and he'll be far more manageable. I only have to suffer through the next 12 years of my life or so, and everything will be just fine.


Then I read a couple of posts by Jodistone and Kristine at Rescued Insanity that made me feel there might be hope, even for Fozzie. Stories about once-reactive dogs who now have moments, or even whole days, or, in fact, what looks like long-term trends, of calmness on leash when around other dogs. 


Will Fozzie ever get there? I think a lot of it depends on whether I ever find the time and the will to take him on more individual walks, without the other little firebombs. And if I ever overcome my foster compulsion long enough to keep it down to two dogs and give Fozzie more of the individualized attention he needs.  


Until then, we have our props that make leash walks possible, if not particularly relaxing. 

And I suppose I'll always look a little...eccentric...during our walks.

TTouch: Calming elastics

Still eager for any tactics that will get me off the hook for implementing management techniques to ease Fozzie and Lamar's tensions, I have been experimenting with Pam's suggestion to use a calming elastic on both my dogs to see if they can relax more around each other. 








Vets and groomers will tell you that a muzzle is useful not just for its intended purpose of keeping a dog from biting, but also because it seems to calm them down. 

What I've learned from TTouch is that the area in contact with the muzzle--especially the base of the nose right under the eyes--is an area that releases endorphins when stimulated.












So along with lots of TTouch around the nose and mouth, a great complementary tool is the calming band or face elastic. According to Unlock your Dog's Potential by Sarah Fisher, the purpose of the calming band is to enable the dog to become aware of himself, and to release tension through the muzzle. As a result the calming band or face elastic can quickly settle and quieten a hyperactive or excessively barking dog. They also help increase confidence and can encourage a dog to accept and enjoy contact around the face and mouth.
 
To use a face elastic, just take a piece of sewing elastic and place the middle of it over the dogs nose. Cross it under his jaw, then tie it around his neck, just behind his ears. Tie it just tight enough that it creates a bit of pressure.








I have been using a calming elastic on both my dogs at night, as we explore different ways to manage our tense bedtime relations. With his calming elastic on, Lamar does seem to be calmer and more receptive as I do TTouch circles all around his face. A little less tense if Fozzie comes close, and more tolerant even of our new little foster pup. 

The boys are both still big barkers, and Fozzie is mouthy as ever. I am curious to find out how much headway we can make by working and elasti-fying those mouths and noses!

That dude with the huskies

You may not remember, but I do, the blog post I wrote about a guy in my neighborhood who walks a pair of reactive huskies and insists on stopping with them in front of my yard while they freak out, my dogs freak out, and I hustle to get my dogs inside. I remember because it was my first blog post on reactive dogs, which began as a flyer that I posted on an envelope on my fence, and hoped this dude would take a copy before someone took it down and scattered my fabulous handouts all over the neighborhood, which happened after a few days. 

This guy has continued to be a thorn in our side, stopping in front of our yard, belligerently yanking his dogs around, and refusing to budge when we encounter him on walks, standing squarely in the middle of the sidewalk while my dogs and I try to get behind someone's house or venture into traffic to get around him. I have daydreamed about a game of chicken in which I would not budge either, but just stand there happily treating my calm, unreactive dog(s) and talking to them in a joyful voice until this guy decided it was time to get himself around us and move on. But that day has seemed far off with my particular pack of nutty excited reactive beasts.


I have reported some success when Fozzie and I can quickly, happily turn and walk away, then walk back towards an approaching dog who is calm. This hasn't worked with the huskies, as those poor dogs are reactive too. Their lunging and stares just make it too hard for Fozzie to get ahold of himself.

With all of Fozzie's work in new training situations, and with learning calm responses through TTouch, we may be getting closer to a day of triumph with the huskies dude. The other night, I was walking Fozzie with his head halter and step-in harness contraption and lo and behold there was that dude with the huskies up ahead. Fozzie tensed, the huskies started lunging, and I backed into a driveway to give us more space (because this is the right thing to do for the dog's well-being). The dude stayed right where he was (because he suffers from an overabundance of pride, machismo, and/or delusional misinformed outdated dog-training mumbo-jumbo that tells him his dogs need to be flooded with the things that upset them until they just get over it). 

Fozzie and I were maybe 20 feet away from them, and once upon a time, I would have had to keep backing up or get behind a building. But at this distance, Fozzie was OK.


He didn't lunge, he just looked. He tensed, but then he sat down and ate treats while watching the huskies. 


I was so blown away I just did a bit of flooding of my own, flooded Fozzie's mouth with tasty delicious treats and flooded his ears with joyful praise as my own heart flooded with pride and relief and happiness. To the guy and his huskies I singsonged out "We'll wait!," letting him know that I was not going to back up any further and that he could figure out how to get around us for a change, while giving in to my essential nature as someone who tries not to make others' lives more difficult by giving him a bit of extra space and not forcing him to walk out into traffic to get around us. 


I am not sure if I strike the right balance. Maybe I should learn to be a bit more...reactive...myself?


More in keeping with my nature is to set the right example, and to continue managing Fozzie in the way that works best for Fozzie. 


If we continue with our program of slow and steady, positive, sub-threshold counterconditioning and desensitization, Fozzie will inevitably become calmer in the presence even of reactive dogs. And it will become impossible even for the likes of our young friend to deny the power of what we are doing. Which would be good news for those huskies indeed.

Turning over a New Leaf

Now that I've made peace with the idea that Fozzie may be sticking around, I've experienced this burst of joyful energy about getting him the training and attention he needs. What was a burden before, when I contemplated the necessity of doing it for someone else's benefit, is now a fun project as I think of how great it will be for us.


As many of you helped me realize in your wonderful responses to my recent posts on Fozzie's reactivity, Fozzie desperately needs regular walks with other dogs and understanding humans. I know that groups like B-more dogs that put on walks for pit bull-type dogs to go out together, socialize, and be ambassadors for their breed. There are also organized walks for pit bulls who would not necessarily be the best breed ambassadors because they happen to have some leash...issues, but who benefit from community dog walks. I tried to track down similar amazing organized pit bull walks in the DC area, and came up with nothing. Fortunately, we do have Francine. 


Francine is my good buddy and fellow dog trainer. When I told Francine about my need for organized socialization opportunities for Fozzie, she welcomed me to her classes that take place just down the street from me.


On a gorgeous Saturday afternoon Fozzie and I suited up in our dual-attachment leash, head halter, and step-in harness and went to join Francine, her partner Karen, her frequent companion Jubal--a border collie whose parents are always traveling--the gorgeous Shepherd puppy Rocky, and his humans. 


There was some initial lunging and loud barking, at which I quickly directed Fozzie's face away from his two classmates. After that, he didn't exactly become Mr. Mello Yello but he did look at me when I called him and eat his treats in full awareness of other dogs not 15 feet away from him. He did a nice Paws up on a scrap of flooring Francine brought, and he walked around some traffic cones, and he generally was able to focus on me and what I asked of him. Huge progress! 

Fozzie leash walk success

The other day, Fozzie and I had a mini victory in our long-term learning experience of working with his leash reactivity.


We were walking along our block, and I saw up ahead my neighbor walking toward us with her very calm lab. She was walking slowly and talking on her cell phone, which was actually perfect for our purposes. 


I saw Fozzie start to tense, whine, and begin to launch and I automatically started to gather up his leash so I could hold on tight while I just got past them as fast as possible, but then I decided no--we were going to try a different way.



So while we were still about 40 feet away, I said a neutral "Whoops! OK, here we go!" as I turned around and walked rapidly with Fozzie in the opposite direction. 


He was still tense, but directed his attention away from the other dog and to his sniffing and the birds and the squirrels and everything else in his environment
pretty quickly. When I saw this, I turned back around and directed him to look at my neighbor's dog, who was still about the same distance away.


A little less ready to launch this time, but still very tense. So "Whoops!" again and we turned around and walked the other way. Got just a few steps away before I saw more calmness, then repeat. This time I stroked Fozzie gently telling him how good he was as he looked at the other dog. A bit of tension still, so around we went.


One last time we turned around and walked toward my neighbor, and this time Fozzie looked at the other dog, tensed and whined a little, but then went back to his sniffing and we were able to sail on by and continue on our walk.  


Lots of praise and love to our man this time--I learned long ago that Fozzie is way too stimulated on walks to eat treats most of the time--and a thumbs up to my neighbor, who knows about my ongoing struggle and is blessedly sympathetic. 


I'm not going to hang out my shingle and quit my day job just yet, but I do think this was a bit of a breakthrough. It was all stuff I already knew, but the particular juxtaposition of circumstances and techniques I think set us up for success to a degree we don't often get. What I think really worked:

• Giving Fozzie space from the other dog immediately, and having him direct his energy in the opposite direction
• Keeping him moving rather than making him stop when he's all charged up
• Turning back towards the other dog as a reward for calmness. Since I'm pretty sure Fozzie's reactivity is excitement-based rather than fear-based, this makes good sense.    

A strategy for long-term success, or a fluke? We'll have to keep practicing!

Leash Walk Stress and Tug

I have admitted on many occasions that I know it is best to walk your reactive dogs singly, so that each dog gets a chance to practice calmness around his triggers. 


Reactive dogs carry around a high level of stress and anxiety in general, and there is evidence that dogs in multi-dog households carry a higher level of stress as well. 


Combine two reactive dogs on a leash walk, and the potential for stress is high. Key to working with reactive dogs is working with them sub-threshold. With the higher stress levels generated by just being around other dogs, your reactive dog is going to be near-threshold before he even sets eye upon the bicyclists or other dogs or other things that trigger him. So you've got even less time to whip out your treats and countercondition, or just turn around and go the other way. 


I say all this, but when it comes to walk time, I just don't always walk my talk. 


The whole idea behind getting Sandy was so she and Fozzie could be each others personal trainers and I could walk solo with Lamar. 
But sometimes Fozzie and Sandy just look at me too piteously when I leash up Lamar and I can't bear it. So I leash up all three of them, and we walk together on a specially chosen route that sometimes has no other dog walkers along it. 


And lo and behold, sometimes--like when there are no other dog walkers--we do just fine! All three are pretty calm, not that much pulling, and most of the time OK when we pass people of different sizes, shapes, ages, and speeds, on bicycles and with strollers. 


When we do see another dog? Utter disaster. Usually I am frantically trying to distract Fozzie's attention, with some success until one of the others looks at the other dog and barks. Fozzie then inevitably looks, then rears, lunges, barks like a crazy man, and grabs the nearest leash and tugs at it furiously. Sandy or Lamar is now being dragged by the leash, and responds by snarling and trying to get away (Lamar) or getting into the tug too (Sandy). 

I've known other leash tuggers, but none quite so intense as Fozzie. The metal leash is a great solution, but not on the multi-walks when there are other nylon leashes available to grab. 


Our friends at In Black & White have written eloquently of Alfred's similar favorite game of leash tug. I am wondering who else out there struggles with this one, will admit to being reduced to a flustered frazzled whimpering yelling or sputtering Bad Dog Owner at those moments--and better yet, who has a solution? 

Tennis Court Impulse Control

You have probably gathered that Fozzie's greatest remaining training challenge is his overexcitement on leash when he is exposed to things in the outside world, coupled with his frustration at being restrained from meeting those things. What usually results is a spirited game of leash tug of war to which his foster mom is not a willing party, and which only ends when I grab him by the harness and give him a brimstone-laced Sit!

Lately I've been making a concerted effort to work on this by taking him to environments that are likely to be stimulating and allowing him to practice being calm. The other night, I took all 3 dogs for a walk together along a trail near us. Not the most brilliant way to practice being calm, though I must say that even then, as long as I had my cheesy snacks, I was getting nice sits out of Sandy whenever I asked for them, and even Fozzie would tune in as long as there was nothing tooo exciting going on.

After our walk, I wanted to take Fozzie alone a bit so we could work on just calmly observing the environment and refraining from acting out. The perfect opportunity presented itself when I realized we were parked right next to a tennis court. 

There were a bunch of men on the courts running around, jumping, grunting, hitting balls, and talking loudly. There were a few guys lounging on the benches outside, talking loudly to friends as they showed up. Watching all that, who wouldn't get excited?


So we put the other dogs in the van, and Fozzie and I just watched. He did perfect Sits and Watch Mes in exchange for cheesy snacks as the guys ran, grunted, and talked loudly. I explained to one of the guys outside the courts what we were doing, and when we got closer to him, Fozzie gave his leash that Look like he wanted to grab it so bad, but I was present enough to issue a quick Sit! and an equally quick cheesy snack when he did.

An aside: the man was intrigued when I brought out the clicker, and started talking about that show on Animal Planet! He said how incredible it was what the lady was able to do with a clicker and all sorts of dogs. For all the times I've heard people talk about that OTHER TV dog trainer in passing, this was the first to mention Victoria Stillwell. Yay!


In any case, I was so proud to be with my big bully man and to have him sitting so nicely in a challenging environment for him. Way more proud than the time recently I was walking all 3 dogs and a passerby said something to me, and Fozzie AND Sandy both started furiously tugging on their leashes, and there I was on a busy street grabbing at their collars and yanking them away from each other and cursing a mile a minute. I know, brilliant. Roll up that newspaper and gimme a good smash.

It's really not rocket science. Its a matter of getting out and practicing frequently, with just Fozzie. Maybe he really would make progress if I could just do this consistently.

More Fozzie Reactivity practice

My boys made me so proud the other night with their new skills around other dogs! 

We were walking along our usual route, a well-traveled path with dog walkers, bicyclists, joggers, parents and kids. With my growing confidence and new tools for working with Fozzie and Lamar in these situations, I have been using this path more of late, rather than always opting for the road less traveled for the sake of avoiding reactivity nightmares. 

Many would say--and I would agree--that reactive dogs should be walked singly and that combining two reactive dogs on one walk is a recipe for disaster. But with working a nonprofit job, commuting by bike, seeing training and grooming clients, volunteering at the shelter, helping a non-native-English-speaking boyfriend through graduate school, maintaining a dog blog, and trying to play mbira regularly, I just don't feel I have time to go on two separate walks! I think many of my training students have the same struggle, so I endeavor to find methods that are practical and realistic for us busy multiple-reactive-dog owners. 

What we do now is walk Fozzie on his head halter attached by one very lightweight leash, then his Easy Walk harness on his heavy-duty leash. We attach Lamar by a leash that goes around my waist.

Since Lamar's and Fozzie's reactive behaviors are different--and a great explanation of the difference between fear reactivity and arousal reactivity is over at the excellent Success Just Clicks blog--we incorporate a mix of the methods we've learned when we see another dog.

Lamar is a classic fear-reactive dog, and we have worked extensively on counterconditioning so we use the same protocol we have used all along: 

1. See other dog
2. Say Lamar's name in a happy voice
3. When Lamar looks at me, stuff his mouth with fantastic treats while praising him like crazy

We've done this enough that Lamar is able to give me his attention even when another dog is at fairly close range.

Fozzie has no interest in any amount of deliciousness 

Fozzie, on the other hand, loses all interest in treats when he sees another dog even at a distance. So we are trying to get closer to the example set by Dr. Sophia Yin in her video on reactive dog leash training. 


We take a few steps away, backward, keep talking to Fozzie in a happy voice, and try to direct his energy away from the trigger. Lots of movement, lots of action to keep his attention. Use head halter if necessary to direct head away from trigger.


On our most recent walk, we saw an approaching dog from some distance, and Lamar looked immediately at me for his treat. As I stuffed his mouth, I exerted pressure on Fozzie's head halter with my other hand as I backed us all away from the approaching dog. Fozzie is getting used to the fact that he won't get anywhere with lunging and yodeling, so he turned toward me and remained calm! Still not calm enough to eat a treat, but no conniption fit. 

I would like to use the head halter less, and when I have time to do single-dog walks, Fozzie is much calmer and more able to respond to treats and redirection.   For those who have time, I certainly recommend this! And perhaps with refinement, we will find ways to phase out the negative reinforcer even under less than ideal multiple-dog scenarios. 

Reactivity help from Dr. Sophia Yin

Lamar's sideways look does not ease Fozzie's anxiety about the head halter!

Now that we're back from our travels, its time to resume working on getting these dogs to behave more like those calm little Oregon dogs on the leash.


Dr. Yin in this video demonstrates more on use of the head halter. 

She is using it as a negative reinforcer, but only so she can get enough control of Podee so that she can then use positive reinforcement and change Podee's associations with the other dog. 


Key points from this video:

• Keep your dog's attention with action, movement, and games when you are around another dog. 
• Take just a few steps at a time, backward, to keep dog's attention. Ask for frequent, happy sits. Especially useful if dog has already learned Sit as  default behavior!
• Use the head collar only when necessary to get focus
• Brief on-leash greeting is OK--while using the head collar and treats for control and focus

There is controversy about the use of the head halter within the positive dog training community--and my own personal belief is that there are excellent trainers with good points on both sides of the issue. 


My feeling is that the best use of the head halter is in the sense of a "calming elastic" as used in TTouch: a piece of fabric or elastic placed over the dog's nose, crossed under the nose, then tied behind the neck in a figure 8. Here is a discussion on head halters from the TTouch folks that provides perspective on this non-aversive use of head halters as guidance, rather than control.  

I do believe that:

• The head halter's purpose is manipulating the head to redirect it from triggers. That is to say, don't use the head halter just to drag a dog along and say "let's go." For this, far better to just say "let's go!" 
• Using the halter to move the head should be a last resort. When a dog is responsive to luring or verbal cues, use those. 

more great resources on "aggression" and reactivity

Two more things I came across on the subject of fear- and sensitivity-based apparent aggression say essentially the same thing: don't worry about reinforcing these behaviors by rewarding a dog when he's acting out. The treats, far from reinforcing the behavior, will work to countercondition the emotion that precipitates the behavior. 

Dr. Sophia Yin, whose website is full of practical, clear training and behavior tips and instruction, shows us in this video that treating a dog when he growls out of fear and sensitivity diminishes the growling, rather than reinforcing it--and prevents a full-blown reaction from ever occurring. 

And on the Fearfuldogs blog, there is a great post on a very progressive shelter that invites visitors to treat dogs even when they're barking. Yes, contrary to the usual exhortation to only treat when dogs are calm, treat them when they're barking and don't worry that you'll teach them to bark even more.


Why? Here's how I would explain it. Dogs in shelters are freaked out, stressed, and probably much of the time over threshold. Many of them are way too stressed to ever give a sit or a calm behavior when they see strange people walking past their kennels, and at that degree of stress they are not in a state where learning is possible. Give them treats and you'll start to change the emotions they feel when they see strange people. Once the emotions change, the behaviors will follow. 

More reactive dog ideas

Some more reactive dog training tips are offered on this site. Thanks to Francine for passing it on!

This is from Kathy Cascade, one of the T-Touch instructors who works with Linda Tellington-Jones herself. I really like the mindful presentation, the consideration of equipment, and the step-by-step instructions. Though the description is of how to use a "T Touch labyrinth" and other formal setups we may not all have access to, the general ideas can be adapted to any situation. 

To paraphrase and reiterate:

• Reactivity is most often based on fear. Work with it by building confidence and reducing stress
• Reduce tension on the neck, which increases stress. Dual points of contact--head halter plus no-pull harness--are a great way to do this.
• Allow adequate space (work sub-threshold)
• Allow the dog to look at other dogs, but not stare
• Start by following a neutral dog at a safe distance
• Graduate to parallel walking with a neutral dog--at a safe distance!
• Reward calming signals--looking at the ground, sniffing, shaking it out, yawning.

Note that there is some controversy about Turid Rugas' notion of "Calming Signals"...some will say that these signals, which Rugas says are signs of calm that can be rewarded and encouraged, are actually signs of stress of which the dog does not have so much conscious control. 

I think the key, as always, is whether the dog is sub-threshold--if we become experts at observing our dogs' body language, we will know whether the yawn/sniff/shake is a sign of stress or of calm...and whether the dog is in a mental state conducive to learning or whether we just need to turn tail and go somewhere safer!

Aversives?

This morning Foz and I went for a walk alone together to try out our new skills. We saw three dogs: with the first, he lunged and barked and didn't care about the hot dog I tried to lure him away with. The key here was that we didn't have enough time to redirect before the dog was too close--often the case on narrow trails.

For the second, the person was standing with his dog off the trail a ways. We approached, Fozzie started to stare, and I guided his nose away with the head halter so he was looking in the other direction. We then walked away a few paces, calmed down a bit with hot dog, and repeated a few times. He was definitely calmer the next couple of times.

The third was a senior dog, and Fozzie started to rear and bark, at which time we put more distance between us and redirected the head. The human on the other end of that leash then started to talk to me, which normally is way too much for Fozzie, but this time I just talked to the guy while focusing on Fozzie, redirecting his head.

We were able to approach closer, and finally I even let Foz stick his head under the low fence between us and sniff the dog. He wagged, sniffed, and we walked away calmly.

Questions:

• The way I used the head halter seemed very harsh! It did get his attention away, but it was also definitely what I would call an aversive--especially in light of the tender, raw area that is already on top of his nose. I don't know how I feel about this as a positive trainer! Maybe its a case where when nothing else works, use of an aversive is preferable to surrendering an animal to the shelter (not that Fozzie's in any danger of that, but a lot of dogs are because of their lack of leash skills)
• Some trainers are adamant that dogs with issues should not be allowed to greet on-leash. But in Fozzie's case, it seems to calm him and put him in a better frame of mind, so he responds better to dogs he sees subsequently.

I would love to hear what other trainers think about these issues!

A renewed commitment to work on reactivity

Fozzie and I are working hard to give him more practice on finding better responses to other dogs than being a lunging, yodeling little man. We are seeking out friends and neighbors with dogs to give us more structured environments in which to practice looking at dogs without getting so excited. 


As I have said before, Fozzie's case is different from the reactive dog work I have done before because he is not scared of other dogs--he really likes them. Likes them so much that he can't stand being on a leash and not being allowed to greet them!

Fozzie is doing very well with our practice, probably because I am working harder at really setting him up for success and having a few more boundaries on what he can do. Here is what we're working on:

• Don't allow him to stare at other dogs. Use the head halter to pull his face away when he starts to, allowing the head halter to be loose at all other times. 
• Take deep breaths. When I do this, if he's calm enough to notice, Fozzie tunes right in. A great way to exploit his incredible sensitivity to human emotions.  

A difference from my old way, that is of style more than substance: don't let him pull me around. 


This statement has been hard for me to embrace, since it reminds me so much of the old-school "dominance"-talk. But I know it wouldn't hurt to incorporate a little more tough love into my own style at times, at least with certain kinds of dogs. At least with this dog, who can be a strong-willed young man.

I am impressed with Fozzie's ability to relax in tough situations when given the chance, and with his attention when I make myself interesting enough. He is generally so distracted around stimuli. A few times, I have had him sitting and looking right up at me, and lying down and flopping over on his side even when other dogs are visible.

We have some work to do, but honestly I am surprised and pleased at his ability to focus when he knows what is expected of him. 

I'll say it again, Fozzie has been my best mentor yet! 

teaching an old dog new thought patterns

Lamar, looking none too happily at Fozzie 

It seems Lamar Latrell is a bit more grumpy about Fozzie since Tashi passed away. Did his old lady exert a calming influence, a balancing dose of old wise woman-ness to this crew of zany boys? Hard to say for sure, but it is certain that we need to find a way to work on the nightly ritual of lunging growling snarling whenever Fozzie comes near Lamar's turf, the bed.

Time for bits of Beggin Strips, cheesy snacks, and organic training treats. Whenever Fozzie comes near and Lamar gets The Look--or ideally, before the eyes have rolled all the way to the side and the lips have curled all the way up--I tell Lamar what a good boy he is, scratch him in front of the ears where he loves it, and stuff his mouth full of yummy snacks. Fozzie gets snacks too, just to remind him that other dogs are associated with good things and not just terrifying noises and hideous snarls.

Relaxing a bit. Right paw just received a paw rub. 

After a few treats, Lamar visibly relaxes. Even more dramatically if I scratch his ears really well too. Eyes drift toward closed, ears sail out slightly, mouth opens and breath deepens. Paws extend, sometimes even touching Fozzie's.
Although it's back to square one every time Fozzie approaches the bed and Lamar's on it, I am hopeful. Its not a deep hatred like Lamar had for Lars; on walks they do just fine together and in the yard they even sometimes romp like lads in the midst of a bromance.
So do we keep looking for a home for Fozzie, so Lamar can someday relax? Do we get another little spunky girl foster dog who might neutralize the testosterone poisoning? If my history with dogs is any indication, the rational solution may not be the one that wins out!

Sensible leash walking

I think losing Tashi has made me even less tolerant of unnecessary cruelty and bad dog training in action.

There is this guy who walks his two huskies in my neighborhood and stops in front of my yard just to force his dogs to watch Fozzie while they freak out and while Fozzie freaks out and I try to get him inside. The other day, I got out of my gate to walk Fozzie and Lamar and saw too late that the guy was there with his two huskies, just standing there. Then I heard one of them yelp in pain and I saw that he had it in an alpha roll. Fozzie and Lamar were of course freaking out, and all I could do was yell and beg the guy not to do that to his dogs because he was scaring them and making it worse. He apparently wasn't ready to hear that message, and told me I didn't know what I was talking about. 

So I've created a flyer, just for him, which I've put in a plastic folder attached to the outside of my fence. I seriously doubt he is going to take one, but it was gratifying to write it up in any case. In honor of Tashi, Lamar, Fozzie, those two poor huskies, and any other dog who has a little bit of trouble expressing himself constructively on walks, here's what it says:

Dog Walk Training and Management – Easy Tips for Calmer Dogs and Happier Humans

We love our dogs, but sometimes their behavior just drives us crazy. Barking and lunging on the leash, pulling like mad, ignoring us—they couldn’t be more frustrating if they tried.

 

The important thing to know about these behaviors is that our dogs are not trying to frustrate us—they are just trying to get what they want in the fastest way they know how. We can get better behaviors by allowing them to get what they want in exchange for doing what we want—and preventing the worst behaviors through good management.

The pitfalls of “Dominance”- based training

Most dog trainers once thought dogs misbehaved because they thought of themselves as “dominant,” and the solution to the problem behaviors was to show them that we, the humans, were dominant. This notion derived from studies of captive wolves done in the 1940s, but it turns out that these animals were poor models either for the domestic dog or for the wild wolf.

Unfounded theories of “dominance” have led to some training methods that can cause behavior problems to become more severe. 

1.   Alpha rolls. Contrary to the myths propagated by some television dog trainers, dogs do not initiate “alpha rolls” to put a subordinate dog in its place. A dog may roll over on its own to appease another dog or a human, but a dog who was truly confident would never force another dog into a roll-over. When we do so, especially when the dog is already scared or stressed about something in its environment, we just frighten the dog more and make it more likely to react negatively the next time it sees the thing it was worried about.

2.   Flooding, or forcing a dog to “just get over it.” If you were terrified of spiders, and someone put you in a room full of really big hairy ones, would you feel better about spiders? You would probably have a heart attack first. Forced exposure to stressors just makes them more stressful.

3.   Harsh physical corrections of any kind. Many problem behaviors are caused by fear and stress, which are exacerbated by harsh verbal or physical corrections.

4.   Choke collars and prong collars. Again, these cause pain, which exacerbate fear and stress, which make leash lunging worse. Try a no-pull harness instead (Easy Walk and Sensation are two brands).

These outdated methods have been replaced by simple, effective methods based on modern behavioral science and endorsed by the American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior, the Association of Pet Dog Trainers, the Certification Council for Professional Dog Trainers, and other professional societies. Following these few basic principles will help turn your times together from exercises in frustration to experiences of joy.

Set your dog up for success

If you know your dog is going to “lose it” in a certain situation, don’t expose him to that situation before he can handle it. If you do, you are just allowing him to practice the behavior of “losing it.”

Work sub-threshold

If you know your dog hates bicyclists or other dogs, don’t force him to experience these things in large doses. Instead, expose him to his triggers at levels he can handle. This may mean showing him another dog or bicycle at a distance, or for just a second or two before you walk in the other direction and go someplace safe.

Desensitize and countercondition

If your dog seems to hate other dogs or bicyclists, he most likely is reacting out of fear of these things. He lunges and barks because he wants them to go away. The way to change the behavior is to address the fear, by pairing the feared thing—in small doses—with a pleasurable thing. Find a food item that your dog really loves (cheese, lunch meats, hamburger, etc.) and give your dog tiny pieces of it as he watches the thing he fears from a distance.

Outline of leash reactivity training

Be vigilant on your walks, so you notice the other dog –or bicyclist or tall person in a big coat--before your dog starts reacting. When your dog notices the other dog—but before he gets excited about it—stop and feed your dog treats at your thigh. 

If you don’t catch it in time or that dog/bicyclist/tall guy with a beard is approaching you, then you should just “Turn and Go.” Some ways to do this:

• Walk up on the leash. When you get to your dog’s shoulder and he looks at you, talk to him in a happy, singsongy voice as you turn with your dog and walk in the other direction, away from the dog/bicyclist/tall guy with a beard.
• Practice at home saying his name, or some happy word you choose, and treating him when he looks at you, so you can use this on walks
• You can also go across the street or behind a car to avoid going right past the trigger. 
• As he gets more relaxed about his triggers from one distance, you can move closer while giving your dog those small treats. Eventually, you may be able to continue past the trigger while calmly treating and praising your dog. 
• You can also redirect his attention when other dogs approach. Have him touch-target your hand: put your hand out next to his face, say “touch!” and when his nose touches your hand, say “Yes!” and treat. This is a good way to keep his attention focused on you and on doing something that makes him feel good, so he’s not focused on the other dog.

Once you are ready and have practiced treating your dog at a safe distance for a while, and she is starting to be calmer around other dogs, find opportunities to let your dog practice being calm around other dogs. Praise and treat her when she sees another dog and doesn’t react. Don’t push your dog too fast and go beyond his limits, though; if that does happen, go back to a safer distance until he’s ready to move on.

Reward that which you want repeated, ignore that which you want to fade

Dogs will do what you want if you provide proper motivation. If your dog is not food motivated, find something (a belly rub? A game of tug?) that does motivate him. If your dog is usually food motivated but won’t eat in a given situation, it is because he is too scared and stressed—back up and work sub-threshold. 

Kirsten Stade

Mindful Handler, Peaceful Dog

peacefuldog@yahoo.com

(301) 920-0679