Quick video and giant shout out to team Bosco. His humans went anove and beyond on their homework adding huge distance to their target and retreat behavior. I like teaching this skill to dogs who get stuck once they’ve approached a person. These two get an A+ for sure! #vermontdogbehavior #dogtraining #behavior consultant #fearfuldog #empoweredpeople #positivereinforcement #skillbuilding
Buttercup is my fearful dog. A year ago a walk like this seemed like a pipe dream. Much of my work with her has been strategic counterconditioning, small exposures, and relationship building. This might not look like much but good training often doesn’t. This is a big deal for us, all that slow steady work paid off!
In the first clip you can see Buttercup become startled by a snapping branch. I let her stop and think about it for a beat before making a kissy noise and offering her food when she disengages. In the second clip we’re walking through a more dimly lit section of trail. Buttercup only has one eye with a limited field of vision, so lighting changes are difficult for her. She checks in with me, and once again I offer her a reward at the end. In the third clip we need to walk through 2 gates in order to return to the car. Thresholds are a common trigger for fearful dogs, and there were times when we first brought her home that we had to carry Buttercup through doorways. Here I allowed her to walk through on her own, and rewarded her for passing each gate.
Throughout this video you can hear me reassuring and praising Buttercup. It’s important to note that you can’t reinforce fear. You can however reinforce that a situation/environment/trigger is scary. Allowing fearful dogs to go at their own pace, make decisions about their proximity to a trigger or how long they need to evaluate a trigger, and being their cheerleader all go a long way in helping them overcome scary stuff. Have a fearful dog? Don’t hesitate to reach out.
#vermontdogbehavior #dogtraining #behaviorconsulting #LIMA #R #fearfuldog #reactivedog #bravedog #choiceisaprimaryreinforcer #youcantreinforcefear #pitbull #survivor
Our friend Francis is very upset by visitors to the house. We’re working with him to both build a positive emotional response to our presence and teach alternate behaviors to charging and barking. Here he’s practicing engage/disengage with Emily while staying on his bed. Way to go Francis and family 👏
#vermontdogbehavior #dogtraining #behaviorconsulting #shelterconsulting #havedogswilltravel #positivereinforcement #R+ #reactivedog #fearfuldog
Myth: handing treats to shy dogs will help ease the tension.
NOPE.
TRUTH: Space, a nonconfrontational approach, and high value snacks tossed from afar are a much high recipe for success. Helper dogs are a bonus.
Emma is seen here building a new friendship with this #shyguy Nash. She focuses on the other dogs, takes the pressure off Nash, and tosses treats over her shoulder.
Eventually, Nash will warm up to her, but that's his choice. The power of choice and control in the environment is huge.
A good way to check to see if the dog is an active participant? Get up and leave after 5-10 tosses. Come back and see if the dog is less avoidant or decides to move away. This will give you a barometer on their feelings!
#fearfuldog #behaviorconsultation #assessment #socialization #behaviortips #privatetraining #shelterwork #scareddog #dogbehavior #vtdogbehavior
We always want to make sure we’re meeting a dog’s needs, and for some dogs that means singing the song of their people. That doesn’t always work out, especially for folks working from home.
One way to work with excessive barking (we’re not talking about reactivity, just a dog who really likes to talk) is to capture and put barking and not barking on cue. This allows us to ask the dog for silence when needed, and also gives the dog a fun and more acceptable outlet for barking.
Remember to look at what behavior you actually want to train, not just a label for your desired outcome. “Quiet” isn’t a behavior. That label needs to be attached to an actual physical behavior in order for it to mean something to the dog.
#vermontdogbehavior #dogtraining #behaviorconsultant #iaabc #cdbc #ccpdt #cpdtka #positivereinforcement #R+ #allbreedswelcome #bigdogbigbark
Did you know we can teach our dogs to take a breath on cue? As soon as we see the dog’s nostrils flare we feed a treat. Over time we add a verbal cue so we can help the dog to chill out more readily when asked.
This is a neuro feedback exercise developed by Dr. Karen Overall and Leslie McDevitt. Deep breathing slows heart and respiratory rates promoting relaxation and attentiveness. Emotional regulation can be difficult for dogs and humans alike, so next time you’re feeling angry, anxious or overwhelmed remember to Take a Breath!
#vermontdogbehavior #dogtraining #behaviorconsultant #positivereinforcement #R+ #takeabreath #controlunleashed
Flirt poles aren’t just for large breed dogs. Madison is a terrier and boy does she love to chase and tug. We’re when teaching a stationary behavior it’s nice to give the dog an energetic outlet between repetitions. Building play as a reinforcer gives us more options as we train, and can be especially helpful as we’re fading food when the dog fully understands what behavior is being asked of them.
#vermontdogbehavior #dogtraining #behaviorconsultant #positivereinforcement #R+ #flirtpole #play #littledogsaredogs #terrier
Keeping Cool on Adolescent Adventures! ☀️🏔
•Remember to keep your dogs cool in this hot weather!
•Consider walks earlier in the morning or evening, exercise in shady wooded areas away from pavement, or burn some energy with engaging brain games at home in the AC!
🐾Keep an eye on our social media and website for the latest updates to “splash” right in to our upcoming program offerings!
Warm weather = more outdoor enrichment! ☀️ Kodak had a blast jumping the hurdles in the yards today. We may have a future agility star in the making! 🏆
What is your pup’s favorite outdoor activity?
We had so much fun in last night’s Pattern Games workshop with Emily. Pattern Games are for every dog, and are especially helpful for overly excited, fearful and reactive dogs. Pattern Games help make new or challenging environments feel predictable for our dogs. Here Elsie and her human are practicing the 123 and Whiplash Turn games.
#dogsrockvermont #vermontdogbehavior #dogtraining #behaviorconsultant #controlunleashed #patterngames #positivereinforcement #snackleadernotpackleader #R+ #allbreedswelcome #essexjunctionvt
Enrichment Prep at Dogs Rock!
#canineenrichment #daytraining #vtdogtrainer #dogsrock #cometrainwithus
And we're off!!! 🚀
Emily demonstrates the foundation behavior of "Come Front" in our first of four full classes of Reactive to Rockstar!! Teaching your dog to orient to you among any distraction is a critical first step in building better behavior.
#clicktreatrepeat
We have 16 amazing dog guardians taking the important steps to help their dog feel more confident and happy, and learn the skills they need to change their dogs' behaviors around triggers.
We cannot wait until Thursday nights group!!
The Power of Pattern Games! Great for many skills, and excellent for working through reactivity! This is a 10 minute unedited video, but worth the watch!!
#dogsrock #vermontdogbehavior #reactivedog #daytraining #maketrainingfun #dogtrainer #vtdogtrainer #vtdogs #patterngames #R➕
Have you ever wondered how to stop your dog and get their attention when they’re busy doing something else? Conditioning a positive interrupter can do the trick. You can see Rumi working on this skill when he turns away from Emily toward his person. This is different than a recall or calling your dogs name, this conditioned sound specifically means turn to me immediately. It’s a bonus that in this case Rumi returned to his owner.
#dogsrockvermont #vermontdogbehavior #R+ #snackleadernotpackleader #problemsolving #labmix #aussiemix #gooddog #Essexjunction
Check out Lilo mastering the ramp during her recent field trip!
Small breed dogs are often over handled because its just so easy to do. This can make them averse to being picked up, having training gear put on etc.
One way to avoid over handling, or to rectify handling aversion, is to train behaviors that allow for less physical manipulation. Lilo using the ramp means we don’t have to scoop her up, while still getting the end result we’re looking for. It’s a win win.
#dogsrockvermont #vermontdogbehavior #dogtraining #daytraining #positivereinforcement #snackleadernotpackleader #empoweryourdog #lowstresshandling #corgi #essexjunction
Upcoming Classes!
FUN announcements!!!
Welcome to another Hump Day with Dogs Rock 🐫
It’s one thing when dogs are humping each other, but what does it mean when they hump a human? As with other dogs, when your pup is mounting you or another person it’s a form of communication.
Mounting of humans is most often seen in puppies and adolescent dogs. It generally occurs when the puppy is over excited or looking to engage in play. In this video the puppy is SUPER happy to see Emily, and this is how he communicated that.
While it’s not an inherently bad behavior, there are certainly other ways we would prefer our puppies to express themselves. So what should you do if your dog starts to hump you? First stay calm, you don’t want to add more excitement to the situation. Use food to redirect your puppy in to performing a calm behavior if the mounting was prompted by overstimulation. If the humping was an invitation to play, break out a toy and get them engaged in a fun game of tug or fetch instead. Repeat this each time your pup begins to hump, and soon they will learn to offer your preferred behavior instead of mounting because the new behavior has a history of getting them what they want - your attention.
If you need help deterring your dog from humping you or your guests, give us a shout through our website www.dogs rock vermont.com
*For the purposes of this video the puppy was allowed to hump a staff member’s leg for several seconds before being redirected to playing with a toy.*
#dogsrockvermont #vermontdogbehavior #dogtraining #behaviorconsultant #positivereinforcement #snackleadernotpackleader #puppyprek #daytraining #puppyproblems #puppy #humpday #essexjunction
Sneak peak of Emily’s upcoming Pattern Games workshop!
Off camera Laurie is working with another dog, which little Kodak became fixated on. His guardian was able to put the 123 Game in to practice and get him back on track!
#dogsrockvermont #vermontdogbehavior #positivereinforcement #snackleadernotpackleader #patterngames #reactivedog #fearfuldog #exciteddog #pomeranianmix #essexjunction
Dante is working hard in our day training program to overcome leash reactivity. This dog social dude gets super frustrated when he can’t say hello, which leads to barking and lunging. Sometimes he gets startled by dogs appearing unexpectedly which can also lead to big feelings.
Here you can see he is doing an amazing job with engage disengage, and when he begins to get too close to his threshold Maya is able to provide him with more distance from his tigger and get him back to playing the game.
[ID: a long haired German Shepherd plays engage/disengage with his handler outside a dog park with several other dogs inside]
#vermontdogbwhavior #dogsrockvermont #dogtraining #behaviorconsultant #daytraining #positivereinforcement #snackleadernotpackleader #reactivedog #bigfeelings #germanshepherd #puppy #essexjunction
