Jack + 13 dogs = NOTHING woohooo

[jacksdad]

A couple months ago I got a little extra money and was able to get 5 sessions with a good trainer/behaviorist. I really checked out the credentials as best I could before making contact. Well on our last session we took Jack out for a walk so she could see his progress, offer tips etc. This was the day I have alluded to in other posts where Jack did not react to dogs, humans, cats, ducks etc. Based on the success of that day, the trainer suggested I take Jack over to the local high school Monday nights where a group of people are working with their dogs in preparation for doing a demonstration at local up coming dog event/festival called "woolfstock". The idea would be for me and Jack to walk around at a distance and let him look at and be "near" a group of non reactive dogs.

So tonight we went. There were 10 dogs out practicing whatever it is they were practicing. We had 3 encounters with them. In this context encounter just means we were close enough that Jack knew the dogs were there, but far enough away they were clearly not a threat. And being good non reactive dogs they basically ignored Jack. Which made my job a lot easier.

encounter 1. I got us with in about 25/30 yards. Asked jack for a down, and feed him treats as he took in the world, glanced at the dogs etc. No reaction. normally I keep this to seconds, but today we stayed in place for a minute or two. then we moved on. went and checked out other parts of the campus away from the dogs.

encounter 2. we came back to the field, but this time I got us within about 15 yards. sit, lots of treats. If Jack looked at the dogs, treat. jack looked at me treat. then after a couple minutes we ran (a fun run. not a clear the area run) to the other end of the field and got some water, and walked around some areas where the dogs were not so visible.

Encounter 3. went back down to the field with the dogs and played around at a distance (30 plus yards) running back and forth and just being goofy. it was at this point one of the 3 other dogs we encountered that were out just walking around too came by and it gave Jack a good hard stare. Not sure if it was the "aggressive" hard start or if it was just a intense interest stare, but it put Jack on a high alert and were his ears had been relaxed, they were now in his "on guard" position. BUT he broke eye contact and re focused on me when called. lots of treats. and this is where I called it a day and we left.

Jack and I both learned a lot. because the main dogs we were "playing" off were clearly non reactive and basically ignored us, I got to focus on Jack watch his body language and really reward the auto watches back to me, and other moments of calm. But, even though he didn't "explode" or "freak out", it still took a lot out of him. I will be working to avoid dogs for a day or two while he calms down.

[Fundog]

Well done. And bravo to you for knowing when to "call it a day" and leave. That's fantastic!

[jacksdad]

Now that I have had a chance to sleep on it and give some thought to the lesson's learned from this, I am thinking we won't be repeating this for for a little while. While it was nice to be able to "play off" non reactive dogs, it really did push Jack to his limits.

while I am very confident Jack was handling the 10 dog group, it was a challenge for him. But at his current level of progress, his "skills" didn't leave a lot of room for "oops" in terms of other dogs such as that last one.

This morning he was literally jumpy. Normally on our morning walks his ears are relaxed and unless he sees a dog isn't on alert. But today he was clearly on alert even though it was only us. A little rustling of leaves do to wind and rain made him physically jump from being startled. He also started to fixate on a cat and growled, he doesn't growl at cats, he just goes into hyper chase mode. We were barked at by a rottie through the rottie's garage door, which caused jack to freeze and go on alert. Both incidents Jack redirected his attention to me when called and took treats and we moved on without a freak out.

So, I will defiantly be taking it back a notch and giving Jack a chance to de stress a bit. We are having a rainy day, so for today this shouldn't be difficult.

It was a nice to see Jacks progress and how far his has come. And I am very, very proud of Jack keeping it together, but I think we are going to take it easy for a little while. only deal with dogs that show up, and not seek any out for a while.

[dontpugme]

That's awesome! Is this Woofstock?: http://positively.com/photo-gallery-test/2009-09-20/

[emmabeth]

I think you guys are doing brilliantly!

Your plan of testing the waters, tentatively, and then backing way off to let him calm down and settle again I think is a really good one and its great that you recognise that seeing 13 dogs successfully one day does not mean he can see 13 the next day, or more, or maybe even less...

It would be all too tempting to push him further, too fast, which I know you wont do but its great to see this documented so we can refer other people back to it, who are perhaps doubting the management/avoidance/counter conditioning route, or ARE tempted to push things along at a quicker rate.

[jacksdad]

Thanks you for the complements. The more I learn, the more progress I see, and the looking back at what it took to get here. The temptation to push for more too quickly is becoming less and less of a temptation.

Tonight's walk... zero dogs and I worked to keep it that way. I even went as far as to avoid people too. I wanted Jack to have as a stress free walk as possible and that is what he got.

Until your dog calms down, it's hard to really get how little you are able to train and how little they respond verse when they are calm. Example, Jack found a bit of burrito shell, picked it up to eat, I ask for a drop it, AND HE DID IT. this isn't something I have put a lot of effort into yet. though it's something on my list to revisit. Boy did he get treats for that one. a week ago....forget it. Also, dealing with people would not have gone as smooth as tonight either.

Also, until you seen your dog calm, you can easily mistake their distraction anxiety for "disobedience" or "ignoring". Sunday Jack was all about the loose leash walk, very attentive to me. very responsive and relaxed.

After Monday night, he is once again very distracted by the world around him, loose leash while not out the window, was very sloppy. checking for scent like a mad man. constantly looking around, ears peaked and "scanning". When this is the norm, it's hard to really get how anxious your dog is. Once you start seeing them calm...what a difference.

Initial avoidance to buy time, calm your dog down, and to educate your self is so critical and the value of it should not be underestimated.