Evie is a dog that is afraid of anything new. She hasn’t been bathed in a year or more. Her owner has been encouraging her to get in the shower on her own. During our last lesson, I turned the water on to further desensitize her to the idea of getting a bath. She’s doing great!
I often use my own dogs to help with training. With reactive dogs, I start with Bash. He’s so mellow and ignores the other dog that it’s a perfect start. Tibbers helps me next. I purposefully encourage her to be active and bark, which is exactly what I discourage in my clients. 😂
Leyla continues to practice being calm around other dogs, even when they aren't calm. When we started, Leyla was reacting but not overly stressed. Within a few minutes, she was settled and learning.
Nail trims can be a huge challenge for dogs. I've worked with dogs that growl the second they see nail clippers. And other dogs like Evie, that panic if you try to restrain them in any way, including holding a paw. With some patience and dedication, the dogs overcome their fear and relax for this basic grooming need. How do your dogs do for nail trims? If you need help, reach out!
This week Stella has been learning to ring a bell to go out. There's a lot of cool devices out there now! This particular bell rings the receiver but it also sends an alert to your phone. I really like this idea because it ensures that you won't miss when your puppy is asking to go out just because you are out of ear shot. It's also great for anyone who is hearing impaired and not able to hear a typical bell.
Part of potty training is teaching the puppy to go immediately when you go outside. This prevents standing outside in the rain for 20 minutes before work. When we go out, I keep Stella on a short lead. She has 5-6 ft to find her spot to pee. I take her to the same place every time. If she potties immediately, I praise her and let her off the leash to run around and enjoy some freedom. If she doesn’t pee within 5 minutes, we go back inside and she goes into her crate for half an hour and then we try again. If you stick to this, your puppy will be mostly potty trained in a week. Stella immediately pees now every time we go outside. She’s on a mission because she knows all the fun happens AFTER peeing.
Leyla is learning new life skills. Her owners tell me that they are able to walk her in peace most days. She does well with walking past dogs and now we are focusing on being able to relax around dogs. This is a harder skill than directing the nervous energy into movement.
Leyla is making great progress being able to walk past and ignore other dogs.
Stella is going to be the perfect little dog for a family of boys 😂 Just because a dog is fluffy, white, and little doesn't mean it's a delicate purse dog.
We are working hard on potty training. One of the things I do for success is setting up a potty area inside. Many people do this with puppy pads. While they work well in some situations and for some dogs, I have seen a number of generalize from puppy pads to carpet. People then struggle to get their dogs to stop pottying on area rugs and carpet. I prefer to use a tray filled with something you only find outside, like gravel, mulch, or grass. This way the puppy learns to associate outside smells with pottying. The goal is to use the tray the least amount possible but it gives you a way to have your puppy less confined if you must be gone for longer periods of time. Putting a puppy in a kennel for 8-10 hours while you are at work and then again overnight is too long. Having a puppy safe space with a reasonable option for a toilet is a great way to allow your puppy the play space they need. Normally, I would NEVER allow her to potty in the tray while I’m home. I would immediately take her outside but I wanted a video.
Kipp and her mom are working hard on heeling properly in public. “Heel” is different than leash skills. Leash skills is all about the dog giving into pressure felt on the neck by the leash. Heeling is a position in relationship to the handler. The dog’s shoulders must be in line with yours. Because it’s a position and not related to leash pressure, this can and should often be practiced off leash when safe and legal to do so. Notice how when Kipps steps out of position, her owner lures her back into position. There is no tension on the leash to keep the dog in position.
Sassy is making great progress in her reactivity. Her owners contacted me when she dragged one of them to the ground going after another dog. This is her third and fourth sessions with me. At one point, Sassy sniffed Tibbers and allowed Tibbers to sniff her. Not all dogs make progress this quickly because there are many variables that play a role in reactivity.
Leyla is a 3 year old Elkhound who has intense reactivity toward other dogs. She has a few dog friends that she plays with but she’s very dog selective and immediately barks and lunges upon sight of any dog. This is our first session but I can tell that she is going to be a longer case.
With all reactivity cases, I work on what could be seen as unrelated things. We work on leave it, stay, leash skills, drop it, playing together, rules for play sessions, and attention work. What do all of these things have in common? Impulse control. Impulse control is severely lacking in most dogs that have reactivity. Improving that skill has a huge impact on reactivity so practicing those things is important.
