OFF Leash exercise area
NEW SERVICE...
Do you have a nervous, reactive or hyper dog and are struggling to find somewhere SAFE to exercise and play?
With the summer a lot of people find it difficult to go somewhere that is safe and secure to take your dog.
I am offering access to my fields and enclosed training areas for you and your dog!
$25 per hour - $15 for 30 mins. Build confidence and bond with your dog in a comfortable, quiet and calming (mostly) environment.
PM me if you are interested ( NOTE bookings wwill have to be scheduled around my training sessions etc.)
Bobby
Here's Bobby again.
Bobby is coming along so well - every week he is becoming more comfortable and relaxed and is now starting to be able to interact around me and Boss. We remain on the other side of the fence so that Bobby does not have to protect his space. You can see he is starting to do a lot more informatioon gathering and processing of what is around him, instead of just reacting in fear. Often these cases only have a short amount of 'work' in them as it is really hard to start using his brain and processing information and regulating his emotions, so we just do as much as the dog can or wants to - no pressure on him at this early stage.
Agility Toshi
And just to show that Toshi had low/no stress levels after his session with Boss, Toshi decided to run off and do the obstacles without any encouragement. He so loves this new feeling of confidence and security.
It doesn't matter that we still use high levels of food lures and reinforcement. All we are doing is continuing to 'cement' how this feels for him.🥰👏🥰😍🥰
toshi & Boss P3
Toshi and Boss - Part 3
Toshi is starting to play with Boss - note that we are still separated by fences. Toshi still gets a little over aroused BUT he can generally make much better decisions, including leaving to return to his owners.
Learning how to act socially appropriate with other dogs is a tough thing to teach, especially when the dog has really had NO experience. Ensuring the safety of dogs and humans is the most important thing. Do not try introducing your dog to unknown dogs unless you really know what to watch for and have excellent voice control of your dog. Generally, there is only a very small percentage of dogs that are highly sociable with other dogs. Think of your own social circle, and how it changes over the years.
Our goal is for Toshi to be able to ignore or remain neutral around other dogs and only interact with the dogs HE chooses.
Part 2 Toshi & Boss
Here is Part 2.
Also note, that this is the first time Toshi has not been on a longline training lead.👏
He is a little unsure about being off lead and all the decisions basically being up to him.
What are some of the 'tests' that we do to ensure he is at a low level of stress that enables him to still be 'operant'.
Note also how the 'find it' away from Boss, is to allow him to move away, and then make the choice to come back into that space.
The next final part is very exciting (well for Toshi it is!)
Toshi meets Boss
Here's Mighty Mouse - otherwise known as Toshi.
You will have seen lots of Toshi as he has started to overcome his reactivity, fear and anxiety. He is now able to ignore dogs (with a little help still), loves doing his obstacle work and learning. He has got so used to having Boss around that he recently started to show interest in interacting with Boss.
Usually Toshi likes to rush other dogs screaming at them about how ferocious he is (all because he is actually scared of them), understandable, as Toshi stated his like living isolated in a house with no experience outside etc.
The next few videos will show how we help expose dogs to feeling much more comfortable around other dogs. THIS is socialising - it's not about them being able to directly interact and play with every dog they meet.
Building toy play drive
Introducing the big beautiful Bobby.
Bobby is an adolescent Bully breed and has been struggling with anxiety, being overwhelmed and not feeling part of the world. This resulted in developing aggression as he struggled to deal with his feelings.
For the past month we have focused on decompression and body language understanding with his owner and building a strong bond of trust.
Building a strong fun relationship with his owner will help significantly with Bobby being able to have something else to focus on rather than fear or concern.
Sometimes WE have to step outside of our comfort zone and be more proactive in positive engagement with our dogs. Trust me....the rewards for both dog and human are well worth it!
end of session
Final part
Womble is very good at letting us know when he is done by walking back towards the car.
We do not force him to stay as knowing that Womble can use his exit strategy is extremely important.
Boss goes back on the lead so that Womble can make his way out without any pressure from his new friend.🥰
I appreciate that these videos will not be exciting to someone who hasn't had a dog with emotional issues, but for those of us who have, these are exciting and Wombles parents were over the moon!
Boss greets a male human!
Part 5
This is so exciting to me! Although the training session is for Womble - Boss starts to actively seek attention from Steve. (helps he has cheese!), But Bossy has been very wary of men as in his early life, males were abusive to him😔
While he is not actively fearful of them now, he has not choosen to interact with anyone like this until now.
Womble is far more comfortable and is willing to let Boss near Steve and even take treats. WIN WIN
Meet & greet lead drop
Part 4
Now that both dogs are comfortable doing their own thing and not really paying each other much attention, I have dropped the lead for Boss - I keep it attached just in case he gets a little too enthusiastic with Womble too soon. As you can see, both are not particulary interested in each other so awesome!
Dog meet & greet
Part 3
Womble is starting to be a little more interested in Boss, but prefers to not directly interact. He is happy that he can move as and where he wants to, and is starting to be more comfortable in closer distances.
Dog to dog introduction
Womble and Boss
Part 2 of their first interactions. More interest from Boss to Womble, Womble is not quite ready yet to be 100% comfortable, so we remain relaxed and allow Womble to make the choices here. Boss stays on lead at the moment until they are more comfortable with each other.
