Every now and then I get called in to help a
dog that is so overwhelmed outside
They see everything as a threat to their lives.
And
react to the scent, sound, and sight of dogs, as well as certain people.
Consequently, they
re dangerous to take for walks. And the owners are at a loss of what to do!
I m leaving my
family home for a couple of days to travel to Sheffield,
Where I ll be supporting Natalie,
a single mum of three, address her dog Oreo's extreme reactivity towards dogs and certain
people, as well as her inability to settle at home.
Considering Natalie's busy life and Oreo
s behaviour being extreme - I'll give a brutally honest assessment on whether rehoming Oreo might
be better for all involved. Stay tuned to end, to hear my advice!
When meeting Oreo, she
immediately invades my space.
I explain to Natalie how we re going to address and get to the
route of Oreo s issues
through a personalised plan that will establish Natalie as a leader
which I break down as a nurturer, an authority figure, a coach, and a protector
that will also
build Oreo s confidence in her environment dogs/ certain people
And show her how she should be
behaving not lunging, barking or pulling
and learning to settle
FIRST UP is to establish
ourselves as authority figures
Part of this can be achieved by deciding when to interact. However,
currently Oreo s attention seeking behaviours have led her to believe she decides when to
interact.
So I ignore her intrusive behaviour to establish myself as an authority, and instruct
Natalie to do the same.
I ask Natalie to Put a collar on Oreo her so I can move her away if she
becomes too intrusive - which she quickly does, when I sit down.
Oreo doesn t get the message,
So I employ a system called the 3 strike rule.
The first strike is to move her off the couch
She comes straight back so I do the 2nd strike and take her off the couch and move her further
away.
She tries again so this time. 3rd strike I put her in another room for 5 seconds.
I
repeat the consequence many times extending timeout by 5 secs with each challenge.
She is
tenacious but so am I,
so I keep going
until she gives up,
and understands the message
Not
to invade my space
Next part of leadership is becoming a coach for Oreo.
Coaches use practice
drills to help players perfect specific actions they perform in a game.
We must do similar for
Oreo by implementing practice drills for all her daily life situations, until she perfects what
she should be doing
be that walking out the door nicely, or walking past a dog calmly etc
The
first drill is getting her harness on each time she gets over aroused we go back and start again
- until she is calm.
Then we put on the muzzle, for her safety, as well as the safety for other
dogs.
The next drill is to get out the door with Oreo being calm
When Oreo pulls to go out,
it is very likely with the intention to deal with perceived threats. So I don t move forward when
she pulls, to show her, I am making the decisions for her safety
My goal is to get from the front
door to the end of the road, with her calm, not pulling or barking. Every walk but be designed
so they are relaxed and listening to you.
If she pulls at any point, this shows she may be getting
stressed, so I ll come straight back to the home
wait for her to relax
and start the drill
again
With each correction, we get a bit further
This process takes multiple attempts
But
eventually I get to the end of the road without pulling or barking.
Now I ll get Natalie to do
the same which is vital as Oreo must see her as a leader.
Not me.
Natalie is off to a good
start by stopping and allowing Oreo to calm,
however she then allows Oreo to take control by
getting in front, which has panicked Oreo in the past.
As Natalie attempts to take back control,
it is too late and Oreo has one of her fits.
We go back in again to reset Oreo and improve
the drill.
2nd attempt to get to the end of the road
The lead here again is tense we need it to be
loose and relaxed
So I ask Natalie to go back in the home before Oreo s emotional state heightens
any further.
Now Natalie sis finely tuning her approach by teaching, correcting and knowing when
to go back to calm Oreo.
And after multiple attempts, she gets to end without a pull or Oreo
freaking out.
Now I reveal another element of leadership on Natalie s plan becoming your dog
s protector - so they feel safe with you.
An example of a protector is a bodyguard. Bodyguards
protect their clients by choosing flight, freeze or fight.
If your dog is choosing a
defence response, they are taking control to protect themselves, and possibly you, whereas you
should eb protecting them
By putting Oreo in the middle, she is being flanked by 2 bodyguards and
so feels more protected - allowing her to relax more. Notice, the lead is much more loose.
she
is doing well, we carry on going-
but notice how the environment changes, it causes Oreo to step
up looking around
and she can sense a postman in a high vis jacket, which ALWAYS, sets her off
barking
so I quickly get in front to show her I am a protector.
However, now the postman is
coming towards us so I choose fight and cross the road
And go back to the freeze position.
Here we watch the postman walk away and Oreo doesn t react. This is significant progress
Another
perceived threat pops up in a high vis jacket
Oreo gets in front to deal with the situation so
I bring her back to show her I am doing the job -then aim to get closer
Oreo tries again, and I
can hear her breathing get heavier a clear sign of stress
so this time I correct her by coming
back further
and give her more time to calm
She tries to get in front at this point so
I mover her back
Now she is calmer - I aim to get as close as she can handle, without her
reacting
There is a bit of pulling but it is not too strained so I keep moving - Oreo is learning.
As we have just had another successful pass. This is a huge milestone.
As we walk back home Oreo
pulls in front and reacts at seemingly nothing, which takes me by surprise
So I move her
back,
reset her,
And go back to the situation to see if she has learnt.
This time she doesn
t react, so we move on.
And I move her to the other side guarding her again.
We head home
to give Oreo an important break before the next lesson
where we steps things up by going to an
area where Natalie has prearranged her friend to be stationary with a dog - so we can practice
many more lessons of trying to get closer in a controlled environment.
This gives Natalie an
opportunity to hone her communication and show Oreo that dogs are not threatening. The goal is to
get as close as possible and leave with Oreo being calm.
1st lesson was successful
Now as Oreo
gets it right we are praising and encouraging her to mark her good behaviour. This is adopting
the nurturer mindset. The final part of leadership.
Next time we get closer.
However,
Natalie is not quick enough at retreating and Oreo panics,
so we take her back to a comfortable
distance
Remember this is all Natalie perfecting the timing and her communication.
Next go and
we are right on periphery. lots of praise going on
Another successful lesson by Natalie here
This time Oreo is lunging forward so Natalie takes back control.
We continue these lessons
Of Showing Oreo not to take control because we will protect her
Many times
Sometimes going
too close to soon
Other times getting it just right
It is a process that requires learning and
much self reflection
Some dogs will take treats, others like Oreo will not
We have to figure
out what each dog responds to
But they all need us to have patience, to keep trying
and never give up.
This is the closest Oreo has been to a dog and not barked.
A fantastic achievement in such a short time.
We leave the training on a good note.
Seeing progress with Oreo today being calmer in the home with people
being calmer on walks
and
calmer in the company of other dogs
shows we made some good progress in a short time.
Reactivity
isn t about having a bad dog - it s a response to stress
And I genuinely believe if Natalie keeps
on putting lessons in she can do this.
It s time for me to say goodbye and travel back home.
I let Natalie know she can call me anytime she needs any further help.
Subscribe to see how
Natalie and Oreo get on in part 2
Dealing with your dog s reactivity can be a tough task.
So if
you re struggling, check out my online course for detailed strategies
To address all reactive
behaviours
Where I work with you personally, to create a plan that suits you and your dog
But hurry as spaces are limited
And remember the sooner you start the quicker you ll enjoy
life with your dog.
www.thedogguardian.com
