18/01/2020
Exercise #1: Automatic attention around other dogs. 🐾🐾🐾
I do 2 things in these sessions. I prompt the dog for attention when they look at a dog, and then reward them for looking back to me. When I can tell things are going in our favor (utilizing distance and good distraction dogs), I let the training dog look at the distraction dog, and I wait for them to “give up looking,” or look at me, and I click & treat for that. If I stand still and wait for good behavior, and the dog’s looking turns into staring (or pulling, or lunging...), I absolutely interrupt that with prompting and (if necessary) physical guidance. A foundation of eye contact, loose leash walking/heeling, sit-stays, or “place” are not necessary to begin this training, but foundation skills are IMMENSELY helpful with this stuff. 🐾🐾🐾 In this exercise, the dogs never meet. Eliminating anticipation of interaction helps reduce arousal. For reactive dogs, I recommend stopping ALL greetings on leash. Greetings should only be introduced in a formal, structured system - and the utility of such an exercise should be critically assessed. 🐾🐾🐾
Exercise #1.5: The perfect sit-stay. 🐾🐾🐾
This maneuver can be very helpful with keeping your dog calm and collected under distraction. As long as they have some familiarity with sit-stays and are not overly stressed, giving your dog a specific task to perform can put a dog’s mind at ease. Standing directly in front of them keeps you present in their mind - it is physically most comfortable to look at you instead of around them. Setting yourself up at a 90 degree angle allows them to still assess the distraction. The idea is not for you to be body-blocking the dog (eliciting a game of peekaboo), and you do not want them twisting around and popping out of their sit because the distraction is behind them. Ideally, the dog should be set up so that they can glance at the distraction, and then check back in with you. This is another great way of reinforcing eye contact around the trigger. 🐾🐾🐾 Make sure when the dog looks back at you, they see a happy, engaging face!
Exercise #2: Go say hi. 🐾🐾🐾
This exercise is great for assessing matches between dogs by slowing down the introduction. It is great for reducing overall arousal by getting initial investigation and novelty over with before allowing full contact. It can be used for rehabbing on-leash greetings/teaching “say hi and move on.” BUT this exercise may not be a good idea for dogs that are triggered by leash pressure and/or barriers. Additionally, a calm and social helper dog is imperative. 🐾🐾🐾 This should be done only when your dog is fluent in the first exercises. I like the first exercises to be a larger proportion of the dog’s overall training plan, even if you are working on direct interaction/dog-dog socialization. I prefer my dogs to assume that (especially while they’re on leash) any dog they see is to be ignored, and for greetings to only be initiated by the handler. Putting greeting on cue is helpful for this. 🐾🐾🐾 I start the dog in a sit-stay (see previous post) and return to the sit-stay for breaks in between greetings. I reward with food for looking at the dog and back at me. Then I release from the sit with “go say hi” and a gesture towards the dog. I allow a few seconds of greeting, call/verbally
prompt the dog, use the leash if necessary, and jackpot reward while also walking away again. Rinse and repeat! (This is Oona’s very first time with this exercise.) 🐾🐾🐾
Exercise #3: Appropriate play skills & taking breaks, plus recall out of play. 🐾🐾🐾
Disclaimer: Dogs who display leash reactivity can sometimes benefit from improving their social skills through direct interaction with other dogs. That being said, the extreme emotions associated with other dogs can make direct interactions dangerous. Thoughtful set-ups are a must. This is something that should be done with the help of a professional, and you should NEVER try to “re-socialize” a reactive dog by letting them figure it out with strange dogs, or in a dog park, etc. 🐾🐾🐾
Social interactions can be nuanced, and “meanings” of certain behaviors can be multifaceted and vary between different kinds of dogs. That being said, regulating stress and taking pauses/breaks is an imperative part of dog-dog play. I use helper dogs that model stress-reducing behavior like turning away, sniffing, drinking water, and probably way more nuanced communication than I can see. I practice recalls periodically to reinforce obedience skills and keep myself in the picture of play, but I also use recalls to back up stress-reducing and break-taking behavior. As I have written about before, I love using a helper dog that models recall for my training dog! 🐾🐾🐾 I think these two can be good play mates after some more time together. But Pearl had reservations in this session. Oona was doing a lot of silly, over-excited moves, like pawing her directly in the face. Learning how to regulate herself to win the hearts of more reluctant dogs will be a good lesson for Oona.
Training for leash reactivity and stress/over-arousal during dog-dog interactions: Troubleshooting. Behavior can be complicated, but these are common things that COULD be inhibiting the success of your training.
1. Your dog is desensitized to your voice (or your body language, or leash pressure...). You routinely talk to your dog or try to give your dog a command, without success, and now they think your voice is irrelevant and inconsequential. If you have ever seen a trainer take a dog, and the dog magically responds, this is the simple reason why: The dog is desensitized to the owner’s voice, but not the trainer’s. Solution: Good, thoughtful, and CONSISTENT training that is integrated throughout the dog’s entire day.
2. Related to #1: You are not a facilitator of your dog’s resources. If your dog is overweight with a bowl of untouched kibble on the floor, has access to any toy he could ever want from the toy bin, busts through your door without looking back at you when they go outside, and maybe even goes to daycare or a dog park where they go crazy with other dogs and never once think of a human - guess what! Your dog has little reason to give you the time of day. Maybe you’re their buddy, but they certainly don’t see you as in charge of any executive decisions. Solution: Establish a relationship where your dog does work for the good stuff in their life.
3. Your dog doesn’t trust you to protect them. Maybe you have “let them figure it out” when they meet other dogs. If an off leash dog charges you in a park, you maybe laugh it off instead of body blocking them and telling the owner to call their dog. Now your dog has taken matters into their own hands by lunging, barking, and snapping to create space for themselves. Solution: Advocate for your dog and show them that you will help them when they need it.
4. You put your dog in situations that are too challenging. Maybe you just don’t know what to do about this leash reactivity, and you have resigned to pulling to the side during walks as your dog barks their head off. Rehearsing the habit has made the problem behavior stronger. Solution: Move AWAY from triggers that are coming towards you, until you have enough distance to control your dog. If this does not sound feasible, you need the help of a trainer.
5. Your dog is bored, and going crazy on a walk is the most exciting part of their day. Adrenaline can be addicting, especially if you don’t have much else going on in your life. See my highlighted post about enrichment ideas to physically and mentally satisfy your dog.
