Reactive Dog Skills

*I would highly encourage anyone with a reactive or aggressive dog to seek professional help from a qualified +R trainer in your area.  Missing critical readings of behavior is disastrous to training and the owner's relationship with their dog.

In working with my dog, Dolce, I'm finding the wisdom of The Third Way's approach to ring true.  Its founder, Chris Bach, says that dogs who are really scared of something can't ever be made to overcome their fear.  If a person is afraid of the dentist, at best, they will likely be able to tolerate, maybe not even be too terribly bothered by going to their appointment.  But there is always that nagging fear that whatever bad thing happened will happen again.

So, as we can't truly socialize fear out of a dog, we can teach the dog skills to cope really well.  These skills are, in my opinion:

• Sit
• Touch
• Front
• Watch Me
• Loose-Leash Walking/Heel
• Let's Go (180º turn)
• Look At That
• Bounce (BAT principle)

These are the cues I teach at IDOGS.  The +R manifesto states that you reward behaviors you like, and interrupt behaviors you don't.  One form of interruption can be to teach an incompatible behavior.  If a dog is in a Front position, facing its handler, staring into their eyes on a Watch Me cue, they can't be looking at a trigger.  If a dog is walking on a loose-leash, and can be called into Heel position at any time, they can't be out ahead looking for a trigger around the corner so the handler has no time to prepare or react to the situation appropriately.  Rather than continuing a dog who has encountered its trigger to stare at it, turning around and walking the other direction helps your dog trust that you will respect their discomfort, removes the threat, and will help the situation be a little less scary next time.  If every time the dog encounters its trigger, the owner marks that moment with an enthusiastic, but fairly calm "Look at that" and then the dog is heavily rewarded while remaining under threshold, a new association can form between the dog and its trigger(s).

What then, is this Bounce exercise?  It's how you can close the gap safely, at your dog's pace, while teaching them new skills.  This is the tricky part.  The handler must be able to read the dog's body language.  We're looking for a calming signal when we approach the dog's threshold.  This is basically anything that isn't freezing, lunging, barking, or growling.  It can be things such as tongue flicks, lying down, sniffing the ground, turning away and looking somewhere else, an eye blink, scratching, or sitting.  When the dog offers any of these behaviors, we mark with a word or clicker, and walk the dog away to safety and throw a party when we get there.  It is imperative that as the dog becomes aware of the trigger and starts to exhibit any sort of worry, we stop immediately and wait patiently for them to make a good decision AKA display a calming signal.  If we go too far, and the dog reacts, a simple "Let's Go" will suffice.  That was our mistake, so we needn't be mad at the dog.  Depending on how upset the dog is, we may have to practice calming down (take a break and go walk it off, give the dog a back massage, etc.), or try again another day.

So let's say a successful approach, calming signal, retreat has been accomplished.  It's rinse and repeat time.  If you were to draw your footsteps on a piece of paper, it would look as though you and your dog are bouncing off an invisible barrier.  That barrier is your dog's threshold, and it can only be determined by the dog, on that day, with that trigger, in that environment.  All these different factors contribute to the dog's state of mind for a given session, and we must remember that.  Just because feisty fido got within 3-feet of the exact same trigger in the exact same spot yesterday, it doesn't mean they'll be able to repeat that accomplishment today or tomorrow.

Let's say you've closed the gap, but putting things in motion, especially in close proximity, is still overstimulating your dog.  The Touch game can really help your dog stay focused on you while walking in heel position passed whatever trigger you're working with.  Dogs seem to find Touch intrinsically enjoyable, especially with someone they know and love.  If your dog is walking at your left side passed a trigger, cue Touch several times as you go by to keep your dog engaged with you and his/her mind off the trigger.  Do this several times, and try cuing less and less until your dog can confidently, happily, and calmly walk by the trigger while maintaining focus on you.

These are the tools I'm implementing with Dolce and my IDOGS clients.  Many people come for the first session, get the list of these tools and how to use them, and go on to come back a week, a month, or more later with drastically improved dogs.  It's a method you can't really do wrong, except if you push your dog too far.  You can't hurt the dog unless you get too close too soon.  I tell everyone, "If your dog is yelling at the trigger, you've gone too far!"

What are your favorite tricks of the trade for your reactive dogs?  Does teaching a skill, rather than truly desensitizing and counterconditioning, make sense to you?

Dolce Bootcamp & The CCH Criteria for Obtaining His CGC

Now that Dolce has recovered (mostly) from his stressful encounter with the 2 off-leash dog-aggressive dachshunds, adjusted to life in the new apartment complex, and is showing signs of boredom -- we're getting back to work on his reactivity/insecurity.

Goals

• Build his confidence so he feels comfortable with me in new situations and environments.
• Be able to pass by a dog in close-quarters without stress or aggressive display.
• Be able to look into a strange dog's eyes without freaking out.
• Be able to ignore a reactive dog.
• Be accepting of even the most suspicious stranger in close quarters (no contact).
• Be comfortable enough to play with toys in public.
• CGC by the end of the year.

How We're Going to Get There

• I want to build his confidence through lots of obedience (Chris Bach's Third Way, Sue Ailsby's Training Levels), tricks, and agility training using positive reinforcement.  By working on attention to me, eye contact, cues, and handling, he'll be heavily rewarded with someone he knows and loves for interactions he'll experience with others.  I also think that because of previous training methods, he doesn't trust me as much as he would/could/should.  I want to build that bond more.
• I have three main criteria for him to feel that we've successfully mastered something.  He needs to be able to do it calmly, comfortably, and happily (CCH).  In order to address passing another dog in close quarters, looking into a dog's eyes, ignoring a reactive dog, and accepting a suspicious stranger, we are going to address all three elements separately.
• To help him be calm in his trigger situations, I'm going to do a lot of Relaxation Protocol (RP) work at a safe enough distance.  I will mark and treat for eye blinks, looking away, sitting, lying down, head down, etc.
• To help him be comfortable, we're going to do a lot of handling work at home, and do our training in new environments.  Jen over at Never Say Never Greyhounds pointed out the treasure trove of training locations with the dozens of parks at our disposal in a 5-mile radius when she gave me a lesson a couple Februaries ago.  Time to take advantage of these parks and really get Dolce socialized, but on his terms.  Distance makes a big difference, and just being out in the world and having a good training session should do wonders.
• To help him be happy, we'll be sure to begin and end training sessions doing things he enjoys most -- exploring the wildlife and new scents, as well as getting extra yummy treats for interacting with me.  The exploration portion is obvious -- we'll do a perimeter session at each new location.  As for the interactions... This means lots of name game, touch, and auto-sit practice.  He adores these games and glows with pride every time we warm up with them.  We've got the meat roll in the fridge, ready to go. :)
• To work on play drive in public, I'm going to really reinforce it at home.  When we go to places, part of our session will be to at least nose or paw touch, and chase a favorite toy.  This will likely be very slow-going, but if we can include just a little in every new environment, I'm hopeful that the connection will be made within the year.

Tools of the Trade

• We're going to walk with his SENSE-ation harness attached to his collar by the leash (or the Halti harness).  I believe this is the best way to be humane and have control.  I need to do a lot more work desensitizing and counter-conditioning having the harness (and his winter coat) put on.  Ever since the lady at the shelter put that noose-type leash over his head, he has been super paranoid about things going over his head.  Poor little man.
• We'll reserve use of the Halti halter for occasions when we will be working on proximity to strange dogs and control of Dolce's head will be essential.  He has that long, fragile Italian greyhound neck, and detests wearing it despite my utmost attempts to condition otherwise.
• I need to remember to play the calming dog music CD when I leave the house.
• I'm going to remember to take Natural Balance meat roll treats on all our walks, which will be solo save for the first walk of the early morning.  I have been using high grade kibble, but I don't think it's enough to really make the counter-conditioning process effective.
• Exercise, exercise, exercise.  We're going to get back into biking and jogging together on a regular basis throughout the week.  Good days to run are Mondays, Tuesdays and Fridays.  Good days to bike are Wednesdays and Thursdays.  We'll take the weekends off, I think.
• Marker word.  I feel very strongly that when teaching a new behavior, a clicker is invaluable as a marker for its consistency.  However, for behavior work, I think San Diego Pam has a point in that clickers turn a dog's brain into training mode.  I don't necessarily want training mode, because of the emotional aspect to this type of training.  So I'm going to use a marker of "Good boy!" to express my enthusiasm for his behavior.  "Good boy" doesn't always have to be followed by a treat like the clicker does, and his tail wags a little bit when I say it -- it's a reinforcer in and of itself to some degree.
• I'm going to use my realistically fake dogs, Rick, and Irvine Pam with her dogs, Lily and Bella, for setups before trying him out at IDOGS on Sundays.
• He's going to need to feel as though the car and/or his crate is awesome so he can wait there while I work with Zenzi (and vice versa).  We've been laying the groundwork at meal times for this, so hopefully this will not be a difficult transition when he has his crate in the car for our outings.

Plan of Action

• I learned a lot from Chris Bach's DVDs.  I want to build a chain, so I have to keep reminding Dolce how the chain works if he breaks it.  It's my job to set up the environment so he can be successful.  Dolce, I promise to give you more distance from now on, and to stop trying to force positive interactions on you. 
• I want Dolce to come to me and look at me for praise when he sees a strange dog while we're out on a walk -- no matter what the other dog is doing.  Cues:  Name, Watch, Attention, Heel.  After that, it's just a matter of duration and proofing.
• I want Dolce to enjoy being greeted by friendly people, and not to react strongly to unfriendly people.  He is to sit at my side to be greeted, and wait patiently to do so.  Cues:  Name, Heel (finish) + Handling.
• If we are caught off-guard and there is no way to get enough distance in time, I am going to jackpot Look-At-That and/or Watch, whichever he is more comfortable with, until the trigger is gone, with Dolce facing me, sitting (or if he's too worried, standing) away from the trigger.  Cues:  Name, LAT, Sit, Watch.
• I contacted Laurie Zurborg of Wags & Wiggles this morning inquiring about the upcoming Control Unleashed Workshop (4 hours, $120) and/or a Private Lesson (1.5 hours, $180).  I am going to take their CGC class with him when he's ready.  At the end of the class, we get to take the test.
• I emailed Chris Bach yesterday about her DVDs and Books on her method, The Third Way and which would most likely apply to us.  No response yet, but I am getting the DVDs via my subscription to Tawzer. :)

Thanks for following along in our saga.  This year may be the year it all comes together.  I surely hope so.  If not, we've got time... <3 div="div">

IDOGS - A non-profit organization?

So I run this Meetup group called IDOGS (Irvine Dog Owners' Group for Socialization).  I figured we'd get 10, maybe 20 people.  Membership/participation is free, and the goal is to use principles of Control Unleashed, Behavior Adjustment Training, and Progressive-Reinforcement training to help dogs overcome their social ineptitudes.  No one is judged for having a misbehaving dogs, and everyone gets 15 minutes with a partner to "bounce off of."  It's a supplement to a Growl Class, or Rescue Rehab -- not a replacement by any means, but we see real progress in those 15-20 minutes and week to week.  We meet once a week on Sundays, and also offer a socialized pack walk for the well-adjusted K9 members.

Well, my initial plans have been totally blown out of the water by the level of interest and member involvement.  We got our 58th member today (!!) and I barely ever even get to work with Dolce there's so many people.  Last week I tried having Dolce "marinate" on the sidelines in his travel crate.  That actually worked very well, and I intend to continue doing that in the future.

So, my brain got to thinking about what all this could mean.  I think I'm really on to something.  I want to do good by the dogs in this world, and I think turning IDOGS into a legitimate non-profit organization is a really good idea.  I have absolutely NO experience with this sort of thing, though.  I'm already busy enough running my own violin/viola studio(s) and dog walking/training businesses.  I don't need to take on another project, especially one that won't pay any bills.  But this idea just won't go away, and I don't think I can ignore it.

Does anyone have any thoughts about or experience with something like this?

Here's Dolce at last week's session.  He was SOCIAL with this little shih tzu, Lily!  Lily is only reactive to strange dogs.  She's completely fine with dogs she's met before.  I had Dolce in a sit-stay, acclimating to Lily's  presence before he up and decided he HAD to go and investigate this cute little girl.  I was grinning with pride from ear to ear.  So was Lily's owner, who is a dog trainer herself.  We were both very proud of our pooches that day.