Cervus Dog Training

04/13/2022

How I manage MY reactive dog!
Note: this is will vary from dog to dog, this is just the protocol I use for my personal dog and my approach differs depending on the dog’s needs, specific triggers, and what rewards and forms of communication work best for them. Your dog will likely differ on what works for them!

Let's get into it!

Having a dog that barks, lunges, and is out of control the second they see another dog is hard! It can be embarrassing and frustrating and is difficult for both you and your dog.

Reactivity is your dog’s best effort to express and comfort their strong emotions towards a trigger. Triggers vary from dog to dog and usually the reaction occurs because of fear, frustration, excitement and so on.

They’re not doing it to be rude or to make your life hard! They just need your help handling those feelings. This is not a situation exposure will help with, you have to teach them what to do when that strong emotion sets in so they can make better safer choices. Reactivity doesn't necessarily occur out of lack of exposure, often times it's instinct and you can't fix or cure that, only work within it.

Here’s a few ways I help my dog reactive dog to help her be calm and collected around a trigger. (While recording this video there was a dog stopped for a potty break about 6ft away and she’s cool as a cucumber!)

• scatter feeding
- this can pair the trigger with a pleasant stimulus (food) and recondition the emotional response they have to the trigger
- shows I have cool stuff she can get just for hanging out with me instead of reacting, making me more important than the trigger
- distracts from fixating on the trigger which can help prevent a large reaction
- if timed right it can reward calm engagement with the trigger
• rewarding handler engagement

I also:
• work to identify the specific mindset that creates the reaction as well as the circumstances and body language I see when a reaction occurs
• protect my dogs space by getting off the trail or passing with my body between her and the trigger

And most important!
• remove her from the trigger if she reacts heavily
- some minor reactions can be redirected in the moment but for some of the larger reactions it is more worth while to just remove your dog. Forcing them to stay nearby to the trigger in this case doesn’t help. It just reinforces the reaction and shows that their handler won’t help them with a scary situation.

03/28/2022

Let’s talk heel training. Why should you train a heel?
In my opinion a reliable heel is one of the most important parts of training your dog, I’d consider it up there with life saving commands, recall, and it’s one of the bases for off leash training
It’s so important because it:
- Gives your dog a job. Their instincts tell them they need something to do, and if you don’t give them a job, they’ll find one for themselves. A heel is a great job to give them instead.
- Makes expectations clear. Our dogs don’t know what we want from them unless we tell them! A heel tells them how you want them to walk and sets you up for better loose leash walking when they’re not in a heel.
- Builds engagement. Heel training makes you interesting and teaches them that being by you is a great place to be.
- Grows self-control. A heel teaches our dogs that being patient leads to bigger rewards.
- Creates space for your dog. Dogs love their personal space. A heel helps you maneuver your dog to advocate for their space.
- Keeps them under control. A dog with a clear practiced command is a dog that has an easier time listening and a heel also encourages calmness.
- Helps them ignore undesirable stimulus or work through fears and reaction triggers. Here you can see Fawn dodges deer 💩 like a CHAMP. She was a chronic deer 💩 eater as a puppy, but has no problem now because she has something MUCH more rewarding to do, which is come hang out with me!

But how do we train a heel??

Here’s my quick guide:
1. Know what makes your dog tick. Is it food, play, toys, attention?

2. Start with leash pressure and head position.

3. Practice AT HOME. Start with no distractions, then add distractions gradually.

4. Get good walking gear. This varies based on owner preference and individual dog’s needs.

5. Allow your dog to sniff and decompress. An enriched dog is a dog that’s ready to learn. If they’re deprived of the environment you become much less interesting on the walk.

Still struggling? I’m here to help! Note that training is not one size fits all, shoot me a DM and we can chat about what works best for you and your dog!

Zoom appointments available by request

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