I've mentioned before that Rita has a lot of fears ("Have you seen this man?" - may need to re-run that post some day. It was funny, IMHO, and I think 4 people read it.) and, when on-leash, is reactive to dogs (and motorcycles, and crows, and sudden surprises, etc.). Back when we used to go to the off-leash park, she was fine with most dogs, but on-leash, it's a crap shoot.
If you also have a fearful/reactive dog, well, lucky you! And you may want to read all the posts in the hop, because we're sharing: "Successes, Frustrations and Everything in Between"
So, here's one of each from me, but I'm going to start with frustrations, cuz I like to get the bad news out of the way.
Frustration: ~18 months of beating my head against the wall before realizing that what helps/works for most others wasn't working for us.
I tried for ages to get Rita to be calmer on-leash, following what seems to work for a lot of folks, which is basically (1) get your dog to pay attention to you (via various methods) in a potentially reactive 'sitch, and (2) reward him/her with treats. I tried and tried and tried. Once in a while it would work, but mostly it would be me trying to stuff treats in her face while she tried to see around me and trash-talk the other dogs. Sigh.
Finally, I hired a trainer who, after getting to know Rita, opined that while most dogs' hierarchy of rewards goes: Treats, then physical praise, then verbal praise, Rita is so bonded to me, that for her the hierarchy goes: verbal praise, physical praise, treats. I think he was absolutely right, and I should have realized it sooner, since we always knew she was not terribly food-motivated. (A huge lover of treats - but not motivated by them. There's a difference, which I didn't realize before.)
This brings me to a success!
Success: Realizing my voice was a trigger AND could be a reward.
The trainer helped me see that I'd trained Rita to SEEK OUT the ugly situation that was about to unfold because I'd "warn" her ahead of time to "relax." He told me I was talking to her too much, and my trying to teach her the "relax" command had actually taught her that "SOME S*&T IS ABOUT TO GO DOWN SO PAY ATTENTION."
Uh, not the message I wanted to send.
He told me to only talk to her as a reward. Since then, I've found I get the best results when I watch her very closely and the second she turns her head away from an approaching dicey situation, I say, "Good job!" I keep this up each time she looks away and doesn't escalate the usual Intense Stare. This often works quite well. And if we get cleanly through a really ugly situation (like, if the other dog is lunging/barking at her), I'll double up on the rewards by giving her some pats and loving after the other dog has gone on.
I almost never give her treats on walks anymore. (But I still carry them - for throwing at approaching off-leash dogs!) I do still talk to her sometimes. (Don't tell my trainer.) But not as much as I used to. (And I probably seem slightly less crazy for it, which is good.)
Everything in between for me means realizing we'll never be done working on this.
Some days we'll have a 100% perfectly fine walk. Not because we didn't see any other dogs, but because she was calm and did a "good job!" walking past them. Then the very next day we'll go out and she'll be making me nuts, reacting to everything! Le Sigh.
If you've also been beating your head against a wall, I hope this helps. Maybe the usual advice doesn't work for your dog either.
In Other News...
March 13 is Popcorn Lovers' Day, so I share again what I have shared before - one of my fave videos of Abby, toooo tired from a sleep over at her auntie's to get up and eat popcorn.
And... in other, other news... Check out A Tail of Two Cardis for a fun easy-enter giveaway which includes my book, Rescue Me, Maybe - plus "doggy crack"! (Now you've got to go see, right?)
Thanks so much to the WOOF blog hop co-hosts: Oz the Terrier, Roxy the Traveling Dog and Wag N' Woof Pets.
Ah yes, teaching the dog that the cue we think means "calm down" actually means "be on the lookout." I know it well. Lately I've been chirping, "Come on come on come on," as I trot with Leo in the opposite direction from whatever the thing is. So far, I think he still knows it means "come on come on come on."
ReplyDeleteSomething else to think about, when a dog is highly stressed or in "hindbrain," she won't take treats. My first reactive dog class had me thinking the strategy was to "distract" with treats. No. The goal is to reward the dog for not reacting, so we're treating while she's still calm. Even a highly treat-motivated dog will ignore doggy crack if the stimulus is too close and the reaction has started.
Great post!
Yeah, that's what I'm doing now w/ the praise - praising while she's calm. The timing is key, isn't it!?
DeleteWe have our moments too but peeps usually spots it and just grabs my collar gently and waits till the problem has gone. It works for us and all in all we do OK with usually only mischief and what is life without a little naughty fun. Glad things are working out. Have a tremendous Thursday.
ReplyDeleteBest wishes Molly
Yeah, this is really her only "naughty mischief" so I guess we'll keep her. :)
DeleteJeffie and Rita really would make a good team. He's not reactive on leash. At all. But move something in the house by about 2" and its all over. Yesterday I put something on the sink while I went to the bathroom. Rudy and Rosie could care less and followed me in to "socialize" but you'd have thought zombies were attacking. Jeffie stayed at the door, barking at the sink like a maniac. Dog Daddy comes running, sure there's something terrible happening. Yeah... a coffee cup is one the sink. Sigh...
ReplyDeletePopcorn Day! I had it on my blog calendar and then forgot all about it. Wish I had video of one of Sherman's birthdays. He adored popcorn. So, we set the popper on the floor, thinking he'd go crazy with joy as the popcorn flew... joke was on us. Poor dog totally freaked out. ;-)
OMD, she does the SAME kinda thing. The other day she was doing the "INTRUDER ALERT" barking and I went to see wth was up. The daddy had rolled his jeans up in a ball and set them on the dresser. (They're often on the dresser, but usually folded.) She's such a nut.
DeleteThat's so funny about the popcorn popper. Poor pup!
I can so relate to everything you said. My "Sh$^ is Going Down" trigger is when I start looking back to see if a cyclists is coming, when I start pulling Rodrigo's leash closer when I see one, and when I ask Rodrigo to sit.
ReplyDeleteSo now I use a shorter leash so he's always close and I make him sit randomly (among other things) on the walk. My next step is to get him a new harness; the one we're using isn't good, because it makes it easier for him to go nuts.
Yeah, we tried the Happy Walker (I think it was called) harness with Rita and it did NOT work with her. She could totally go nuts, and almost work her way out of it. No control. It worked great with our last pup, but she was a puller.
DeleteThanks for joining the hop, Jackie, and sharing this great information. There's a lot in there that was new to me. I can see where there would be a difference between loving treats and being motivated by them, but I never would have thought of that. I can also easily see myself talking to Cricket and inadvertently warning her that something was coming that she might not like.
ReplyDeleteIt stands to reason that there would be good days and bad days, and I think it's important for everyone to realize that, so that complete frustration doesn't set in when there's a bad day.
That's just my own theory about loving vs. being motivated by treats - but it is definitely true for Rita. But she's an odd dog.
DeleteWell, considering she's part beagle, it is surprising that she's not motivated by treats! :)
DeleteI know, right? But she's nutty. She's just not that much of a chow hound. She's such a paradox. Always trying to lead us to the treat cupboard, but she'll spit a treat out (with authority) if it's not The One that she wanted. She barely licks plates (unless it's something REALLY good), doesn't like peanut butter. She's so odd.
DeleteWorking with a good trainer can make all of the difference can't it? I think the advice makes perfect sense and I think there are a lot of dogs in the same boat as Rita. Sometimes I read about people with reactive dogs and think to myself that they are trying too hard and focusing too much on the problem. Storm was a bit reactive when she was younger. We did not use any of the treat training tips. What we did was walk her a lot and act like nothing much was going on, just another walk. Oh look there is a dog, isn't that nice, lets keep walking. No big deal. This method has actually worked for all three dogs.
ReplyDeleteYes, that is so true! Remaining calm and "it's all no big deal" really helps. I try to not tense up when I see a 'bad situation' heading toward us, and that helps!
DeleteYes, it truly is interesting to see the difference between what we think we are training, and what the dog is actually learning! Jimmy is leash reactive if a stopped greeting happens, but fortunately, just walking along he is fine, well, until a skateboarder goes by, but that's a whole nuther issue ;-)
ReplyDeleteThanks for the link back to my giveaway! Some great captions are piling up.
Oh, skateboards are evil! Rita agrees!
DeleteLove the captions you're getting! Folks are so clever!
That's great! It's so true that not every thing works for every dog. You have found what motivates or works for Rita, and that's perfect!
ReplyDeleteShe is definitely not a "normal" dog (what dog doesn't like peanut butter??? Ours! That's who.) so we have to find things that work with her.
DeleteI used PB in a tube to distract Indy from "threats" on our walks for a while there. She still licks her lips and looks at me for it when we are certain areas of the park--like walking around the tennis courts!
ReplyDeleteI remember when you used to do that. I got a Lickety Stix for that reason, hoping to use it to distract Rita, but she just wasn't interested enough. Funny that Indy still licks her lips.
DeleteThe key to any training success is knowing your dog and what motivates them. I'm so glad you discovered Rita's!! And I love the video of Abby with the popcorn, Sampson is the same, he will remain where he is and chew the treat in whatever position he's in.
ReplyDeleteIt took me forever, but I finally (kinda) figured it out. Funny about Sampson. (Hope he's doing okay!)
DeleteBertha Barth. That is the sixth dog to enter my household. She came from animal control a year and a half ago. A Basset mixed breed, low rider, short legs and now a slightly overweight seventy-five pounds. She begs to be loved. But there are times when a hand movement can trigger a bite. When that happens she is scary as hell, and then sad and remorseful. She has nailed me twice - both times my hand flew in front of her too quickly. Her bite was gentle, but her look was not. She reared around and grabbed my arm. She could have done damage if she wanted to, but she just grabbed and let go when I called her name. I've had a trainer who has helped. The thing about it - it has happened twice and it is unpredictable. I love Bertha and she and the pack have finally bonded, so maybe this will not happen again. It is something that is always in the back of my mind when I handle her. She is my dog and we are working to keep it calm. Any suggestions are always welcomed.
ReplyDeleteWish I had some good advice! Although Rita is reactive, I think it would have to be quite an extreme situation for her to actually bite. The trainer said he didn't think she would bite - she had the chance once with my gardener when he came on a different day and she was out back. She just ran at him and barked like mad. Luckily he wasn't scared, but he was actually waving his hands in front of her (almost teasing her!) and she still didn't bite him so that gave me some comfort. It must be worrisome to find her unpredictable. I do think keeping calm is key - but of course that's not 100% always possible. I've heard folks refer to training for "bite inhibition" but don't know anything about it and don't know if it's something that has to be done with a puppy? Wish I could offer more help!
DeleteMesa is leash reactive and its very frustrating
ReplyDeleteStop on by for a visit
Kari
http://dogisgodinreverse.com/
Isn't it SO frustrating? Sometimes I get really embarrassed by her Cujo-esque behavior - especially if the dog is just sweetly minding it's own biz. (Sometimes she'll walk fine past a calm dog, but if it's a tight space, or a really big dog, she can go nuts even when the other dog is not reacting at all.) It's hard for me because I'm not a super patient person, but yeah... it's frustrating with a capital F. Sometimes I gaze jealously at people out walking their calm dogs... Sigh.
Delete"He told me I was talking to her too much, and my trying to teach her the "relax" command had actually taught her that "SOME S*&T IS ABOUT TO GO DOWN SO PAY ATTENTION.""
ReplyDeleteThis makes a lot of sense and I could see how easy that could happen. I'm going to pay more attention when I work with Meadow for her fear issues and make sure I'm not doing the same.
I'm glad that makes sense and I hope it helps! I would be thrilled to know that this post actually helped someone else with their reactive pup! :)
DeleteSounds like things are working for you and Rita, it takes times and it's great that you still get out and and give it a try and work on what needs to be worked on. That was a great video.
ReplyDeleteWe are all pretty good alone with Mom, the problem is when we walk in a pack, then one of us usually starts something and the others follow with barking, growling, etc, and it looks much worse than it is. Luckily, Mom is strong enough to hold all three of us, but she wishes we would stop doing that stupid stuff. Luckily, we don't run into other dogs that cause us to misbehave too often.
ReplyDeleteInteresting and makes total sense actually.
ReplyDeleteHaving an "outsider" like a trainer watch you work with your dog can be such a huge deal. Even for people who really know what they're doing (even other dog trainers) can benefit from having someone who is "detached" from the situation give some advice. My progress with Jeni really turned around after having a private session with a trainer who told me I was babying her too much and not moving forward because I was not raising criteria. I have trained a lot of reactive dogs but was struggling big time with Jeni - I realized it's a lot harder to train your own dog than a shelter dog or someone else's dog. After my trainer sort of told me, you know how to fix her but you just aren't doing it, something clicked on, we worked our butts off and now you could hardly call her reactive! Though yes - you never finish working on it. Even now while she can go to shows and trials and out in public, she still requires constant management and training and probably always will. It sounds like you are doing a great job with Rita! :)
ReplyDeleteFunny what the dogs pick up on! So smart.
ReplyDeleteWhen you say Rita interpreted the relax command as 'be prepared', I noticed a similar thing with Alma. Seeing an oncoming dog, I'd get ready for passing by pulling over and stopping to put her in a sit. Or maybe changing directions. But once I would change the regular walk or pace, it was like she knew I was doing it to keep her from noticing something, and she'd immediately perk up more and scan for the other dog. Too smart for her own good!
How interesting to find out Rita's motivations are different! I think sometimes we all do that "Oh, sh*t is about to go down" talk to our dog without even knowing we are doing it. I will need to pay more attention to what I say to Oz (because I too talk to him a lot) and when! Great advice. Thanks for joining the hop!
ReplyDeleteGina and Oz
OH MY DOG! I'm so happy that you've found a trainer who's unlocked the key for you! That's AMAZING! YAY!!!!!
ReplyDeleteCoco is leash reactive. There I said it. The other day on a walk, a neighbor said, "Is that Coco?' I said, "Yes." Of course we were working on our manners. She replied, "She's getting better! Good work!" At first I was so proud of her. Then I got kind of ticked and embarrassed. I have the "bad dog" in the neighborhood.
ReplyDeleteI started using the training book "Feisty Fido" and it seems to work, but last week at the vet, when the doctor heard that the goal of the training was for Coco to look at me right when she is distracted by people or other dogs she said, "Don't count on it."
I could scream! Nice to know I'm not alone.
I don't have a leash reactive dog, but since I'm a dog walker, I've worked with many that are.
ReplyDeleteWith my own dog, although he doesn't react aggressively, he does tend to pull and get more excited when we see other dogs. I can relate to how your signal to "calm" the dog actually gets her to be "on the lookout." I've unintentionally done the same with my dog. When I am aware of an approaching dog, I will often say "heel" or "watch" to reinforce good behavior, but recently I've noticed this makes my dog start looking for the other dog in an excited way. Oops!
alrighty.. now that surely clears up a lot of my doubts about my husky.. Lol.. thanks :D (y)
ReplyDelete