Young Buddy came to us yesterday for help from the pack. He’s afraid of people & has been terrified of leashes. He pooped & peed on himself at the sight of a leash. Enter his support team, Stella & Hank who helped Buddy begin his journey to sort it out. #powerofthepack
This sweet nugget is Buddy and although he is barely 10 months old, his fear & anxiety reveals a traumatic background. Buddy was adopted three months ago by his loving mom & dad and he bonded with his mom, but he remains very afraid of his dad and other humans. At the sight of dad & other humans, Buddy takes flight and hides. If his dad moves close and he cannot escape, Buddy will urinate - on furniture, carpets, anywhere. When anyone, even his mom, move close to put a leash on him, Buddy will defecate. He’ll break your heart. But we can help this little guy.
Buddy’s rehab will take place in steps and we cannot rush him. Buddy will set the pace and tell us what is helping & what is not. But we will begin by simply blocking Buddy from taking flight when he is uncomfortable. Fleeing has become a habit for Buddy that creates temporary avoidance, but also perpetuates his irrational fear-based behavior. We need to interrupt the cycle and help Buddy find a new response. As shown in the pics, we put a slip lead on Buddy which was less stressful for him than a regular leash. Buddy’s dad, Charlie, holds the leash and just relaxes. He pays no attention to Buddy, he does not talk to Buddy or try to give commands and he does not put any pressure on the leash. If Buddy panics or tries to flee, Charlie just holds firm and plays the role of an anchor. In other words, Charlie puts no pressure at all in Buddy. He simply prevents Buddy from taking flight. As shown in the pics, Buddy is stressed and trying to flee, but after a few minutes he gradually finds his way to a degree of relaxation near Charlie. When he calms, as he did, we remove the lead. After this 10 min exercise, Charlie was able to move in & out of the room without Buddy panicking. Baby steps. This will be one of a few interventions we will begin with Charlie in the coming weeks. Updates to follow.
LEASH REACTIVITY SEMINAR Day 2. We’re just enjoying a pack walk with friends, which we followed with a boisterous “stunt dog” who helped us work on “passes”. We used “passes” as an opportunity to work on walking past a spirited dog while implementing and honing the human role in helping their dog to remain more calm. I am deeply proud of these people and their dogs.
Leash Reactivity Seminar Day 1 and we’re killing the Circle Method as a group. I am incredibly proud of these humans and their dogs.
Donkey is a cute little dude who has complex layers of issues, likely due to past trauma, if I were to guess. He has a rage reaction to shoes (whether on someone’s feet or not), but when he attacks, his aggression is not limited to shoes or feet.
Donkey’s mom, Lacey, has done a fantastic job of both training & rehabbing Donkey to build a very strong leader/follower dynamic and to help Donkey calm and relax in situations that trigger his aggression. Lacey has been doing basic obedience, remote collar training and she has muzzles trained Donkey to the point that he likes his muzzle.
In this video, Donkey displays calm behavior when at a distance from me (holding the camera), but when Lacey calls him, his aggression escalates as he gets closer to me. I This is a common dynamic. In the brain of a dog, distance = respect and respect = calm & safe. Donkey’s calm evaporates as the distance between us shrinks. BUT, when Kacey steps in front of me and backs him away, she asserts ownership of me. By asserting ownership of me, she takes the pressure off Donkey and tells him that she’s handling the situation. Her move is one of leadership & reassurance. As a result, the next time she calls Donkey over, he leaves me alone.
Young and adorable Georgia has been having boundary issues and trouble respecting the personal space of humans. Her momma was worried that Georgia could accidentally hurt or knock down her grandmother who visits often. So, momma needed to learn how “own” her personal space and teach Georgia to respect whatever her momma owns (including grandma).
We started with dog treats and progressed to the very exciting tub of pimento cheese. Georgia’s mom learned to back Georgia up from the pimento cheese and require her to keep a distance by having a mental marker that becomes mom’s boundary line. After enforcing her distance/boundary (“owning”) the pimento cheese for a couple of minutes, mom walks away and a very playful Georgia respects mom’s ownership. In a few days, after more practice, the pimento cheese will instead be grandma.
WEEKEND WITH HANKY! This is our first morning and first full day. I always send quick video updates to clients and this one went to Hank’s momma this morning. Hanky was ready to party as soon as he woke up, so we started with some circle walking after his regular walk. I wanted to get his head in the game and start building calmer association with me. Not that Hank and I don’t get crazy. We do! In contrast to the video Inoosted about the circle method, I am looser with Hank b/c he was all over the place at first and his low but enormous strength forced me to loosen the leash so that I could keep walking. As you can see, he got on board.
HANKY PANKY!!! What do you do when your 9 month old bulldog puppy is “impossible to control” and is beating up his daddy (who is no shrinking violet)? Send that wild man over here! And get rid of that harness.
Carter arrived a few days ago for a board & train. He & his brother, Buddy (not littermate) have been getting into tangles. Carter’s folks feel like he is resource guarding toys, bones, & humans and that Buddy’s anxiety inflames the situation. Shortly into Carter’s visit, it became clear that he is prone to bursts of over-excitement, which when paired with his brother’s excited anxiety would easily lead to a fight.
So, how do we moderate Carter’s bursts of over-excitement? They are caused by any number of triggers - playful interaction with humans, the arrival of dog or human, the appearance of food, and more. It’s impossible for us to manage all of the possible triggers, so we need to focus on managing Carter and building new habits OVER TIME. Carter cannot develop all new habits in two weeks at my house, but what he can do is develop a stronger and more responsive connection to humans that will help him follow direction and learn to check in with his people more naturally (remote collar, off leash work, recall). We can also do boundary work, develop impulse control (place command, leave it, wait). Eventually, we will tie it all together with real life practice.
When a boxer prepares for a fight, s/he doesn’t spend all of their time sparring in the ring. To be ready for that match, the boxer runs, lift weights, strengthens the core, strategizes about their opponent, etc. Likewise, with Carter, we practice and strengthening several working parts to build a healthier foundation for Carter and for his relationship with Buddy and his humans. This is our first three days.
When dogs come to my house for one-on-one work, I always make videos and send to parents so they can see what we’re doing and have video instruction for when they begin working with their pup. Sampson is with me for remote collar/off leash training. He is so dedicated to the task at hand that he is studying game video with his parents when he gets home in the evening.
I have been bad about posting my client stories lately. I’ll get better. But until then, I will never miss the chance to share a Tank update when I receive one. It’s a community service after all. Please enjoy with sound. Thanks, Gina, for keeping me posted!
Young Lucy was adopted several months ago after Misplaced Mutts rescued her from a rough situation. She has been very anxious since she arrived at her new home. Her family hopes that time and structure would alleviate her anxiety, but that didn’t happen. When I met her, she fear barked frantically for almost an hour and was in a constant state is tremble and flight. She broke my heart. It was clear that all of the love and care in the world would not be enough to help Lucy, so I asked if I could have her stay with me for a little while.
My goal was to figure out how to earn Lucy’s trust so that she could feel safe with me and then be reassured by my leadership & direction. At first, she could not walk on a leash without taking flight. I switched to a long line and gradually encouraged exploration and the use of her nose. I placed no expectations or rules on Lucy for the first several days. She had 15ft of freedom with me dragging along behind her. Gradually, I would occasionally call her back to me for a treat and let her run off to the length of the line again. Eventually, I started direction changes to encourage Lucy to follow and catch up to me. Before long, we were walking together. We went back to a regular leash and she walked with me like a champ.
Our leash/long line evolution created a bond between me & Lucy that had her jumping in my lap instead of avoiding me in the house. She went from flight to cuddle. Her anxiety was starting to dissipate and it was time to teach Lucy how to relax and feel how much better calm feels.
That brings us to the PLACE command. The Place command is a crucial tool for helping a dog’s brain to settle and find calm. It requires impulse control, creates a job for the dog, and provides the dog with clarity about what she should be doing, all of which relaxes the brain.
This video shows Lucy about 5 days into her visit. Prior to her arrival, she would only bark and flee in a fearful anxious state.
Update from Camp Tank! Gina (mom) will be inducted into the Dog Mom Hall of Fame later this year.
Gina has been giving Tank controlled exposure to his triggers (incl. any visitors in the home), but before doing so she worked hard to build a connection with him that helped her connect with his brain during moments of excitement. The remote collar proved to be the most meaningful form of communication for Tank and Gina learned to use it to promote calm and connection with her. Amazing. I cry tears of pride. These two make my heart swell. 💕
Poppy is learning PLACE and we’re using it to build her impulse control. She’s very well trained, but still requires a great deal of management b/c she loses some control when excitement arises. Mom put a cookie on the floor and is requiring Poppy to keep herself in PLACE, despite the cookie on the floor nearby. Poppy is working it like a champ, but not without commentary.
Sailor is a young and very energetic lab whose owners want to be able to let her off leash when boating to local islands, or when they are anywhere that leashes are not required. Sailor was so excited that she would take off and apparently lose all hearing when called. So I began training Recall (come when called) with a remote collar. There is no better tool or strategy to build solid recall, give a dog clarity, and allow for safe off leash living.
Good remote collars ARE NOT shock collars. They provide an electro static signal. There is an enormous difference between static and shock. We train at the lowest level signal that the dog notices and we teach the dog that the signal shuts off when they comply with the “come” command. This puts the dog in control and creates a no-stress relationship with the signal. (Short version of training method).
Here is Sailor on the second day of remote collar training. She’s on a long line b/c we have leash laws, but I am not using the line to restrict her. I am using the remote collar signal to communicate with her. When we first arrive at the beach, Sailors is extremely excited so I call her back to me for frequent quick check-ins. That keeps her connected to me and helps her energy start to settle. Notice how she calms slightly during the 90 sec video.
TANK!!!! So, after a handful of hostile visits to Tank in his home, it became clear that his aggressive behavior toward visitors is a function of dysfunctional protectiveness of his family. Tank is territorially aggressive in his home and aggressively guards his family when on leash. He confirmed that diagnosis when he stayed with me and became my huggy bear. This footage is a small portion of my most recent visit with Tank, a few weeks after we cuddled at my house. The journey continues. (Gina is a badass, btw)
TANK: A JOURNEY WITH AGGRESSION
After back-to-back knee replacements at the end of last year, I am back to work! I could not wait to see my boy Tank again. Big Tank has territorial aggression toward humans who enter his home. (He happily goes to the vet or daycare with no issues). Tank has a traumatic history that explains his behavior and he is a love bug with his family and canine sister. But his aggression issue with visitors to the home is both dangerous (he is over 100lbs) and reflects his psychological pain. We want to reduce both the risk and his pain as much as possible.
Tank is a really tough case. The first time I visited I told his mom not to restrain him b/c restraint can incite more energy. I had a means to block his attack. He came for me with a vengeance and did not subside, so mom had to grab the leash and remove him. Thereafter, we found an excellent muzzle and mom muzzle trained Tank like a pro. She also began working on the PLACE command with Tank. Again, mom exceeds all expectations. Imagine her stress and pressure, but she is taking care of business.
On my second visit (in between knee surgeries around the holidays), I could be in a room with Tank b/c of his muzzle. Again, he wanted to get to me, but mom returned him to PLACE and kept a hold of the leash. After an hour, she had him laying down (on leash) a few feet from me.
On my most recent visit a couple of days ago, mom’s work with Tank and PLACE, as well as her ever-increasing skill with claiming space with Tank, allowed me to hang out with Tank with no leash. In this video, he is panting b/c he was pulled off of me and returned to PLACE. The Place command gives Tank a job (stay on the cot), clarity about expectations for him, and it represents calm. In addition, mom enforced a space barrier for Tank where she claimed me and required him to keep a certain distance. Distance = respect. When mom enforces Place and distance, she is helping Tank understand that it is n
Practicing PLACE and trying to increase duration? Try using a back tie. Go Walter!
It is the consistent practice that owners provide after training that makes the difference. Bosun. Very good boy!
