Oooohhhh my god. Y’all. I know this doesn’t seem like a huge deal but it is. This took Stella 20 min to learn tonight. Due to her fear and anxiety of being outside, we don’t get to go on walks much. Which in turn, doesn’t trim her nails much (pavement). I was tired of just trying to just desensitize the nail clippers and remembered I had this skateboard deck.
This is a big deal because she’s normally scared of foreign objects and weird sounds. Not only was she comfortable with the board when I brought it out, when she touched it she wasn’t scared. 💪
How I achieved this:
*Played with her for about 20 min prior
*Used high value treats
*She already knew shake (need to work on the other paw though)
*Let her investigate board and anytime she went near it or touched it with her nose she’d get a reward
*Asked for a Shake when board was near
*Asked for a Shake and removed my hand so her paw would slightly touch board
*ANY time her paw touched it, she got a treat, even if it was brief.
Getting her to use the other paw is our challenge for now. But I’m so freakin proud of this baby hippo.
Training Fun With My Pup, Stella
All cues are taught with positive reinforcement. I am a force free dog trainer and believe in providing our dogs with a safe and comfortable environment where they can express themselves. Do mistakes happen? Yes. Do I care? No. Is training perfect? Never. Can I read my dog and tell when she’s uncomfortable? Usually. Would I ever FORCE my dog to complete a task just to raise my ego? F*CK NO. Does my dog need to do every little thing I say? Absolutely not.
Dog training isn’t about how quick you can get a dog to do a trick. Or how many followers you attain by showing a “before and after” video without showing what really goes on behind the scenes….
I will never use aversives. I will never harm my animal physically, emotionally, and/or mentally to get them to do a task. I will never support positive punishment.
I will always try my best to show my dog unconditional love and support, just like she does for me. We owe it to them.
This may not look like a big deal to some but it is to me. In the last couple years of Stella’s mental health journey, enjoying car riding went down hill.
She has always traveled with me, since I got her. She had traveled across the states, goes camping/hiking, you name it. Well after she got attacked by a few off leash dogs, her mental health got bad.
She would always want to go with me (separation anxiety) and remembered the pattern of getting in the car, but once in she would shake, try to dig in the corner of the seat to find a safe space, never look outside, if we stopped excessive crazy crying …
But look! This was yesterday after our 20 min decompression walk. Relaxed, looking out the window. Yes, as soon as I start driving there are stress signals but she still chooses to see what’s going on outside.
I managed the fear by keeping rides short, using lick mats, if the drive is minimal we go to one of her favorite spots to run around (thank goodness I live in pdx with a thousand parks and trails nearby), keep the windows up - the air/noise would freak her out, randomly toss treats in the backseat telling her how good she is, and of course, proper medication.
I sure love this dog. My adventure today with Raleigh ❤️
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Stella helped me with my work out today. I did sprints for 10 min (20/10). The entire area was shaded, we did it before the heatwave, she had a blast.
Have a reactive dog? Fearful dog? Or just don’t feel like going out in public? Improvise! There’s so many other things you can do with your dog than go for a neighborhood walk. Make it more fun for them (and you) ❤️
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#ecpetcare #dogwalker #dogwalking #dogtrainer #dogtraining#pdxdogtrainer #petsitter #pdxpets #furbaby #pitbull #forcefree #doggyexercise #petcare
