Advice from our Behaviorist
Here is her advice for separation anxiety in public (from when I used to take him work at the dog daycare) and dog aggression on leash, I will post others as I find them! Hope this helps someone! Heather, Sorry it has taken me so long to get this out to you. For Walter, the updated problem list is 1. Separation anxiety at work 2. Dog aggression on leash You have done such an incredible job with Walter so I have to first commend you for that. Working on Walter at work will be a very long process. Even though our time is limited because you are leaving that job I still think you and him will learn from the situation and you may be able to use the same protocol in the future. 1. First start working heavily on long down stays where you are at a distance from Walter but still seen. Also, Try giving him a toy or kong stuffed with food and having him hang out with it on a dog bed while you work at the other side of the room. If you have someone to help you then work on having someone else distract Walter with food and praise while you are at a distance from him. The idea is to get him comfortable being away from you so that as time passes you can slip out of sight for a short (seconds at first ) moment. Do not pay any attention to Walter at work during this entire process, we need to make your presence less enjoyable/insignificant. DO NOT make a big deal out of your departures and returns, this will only make things worse. 2. Leah aggression is very fixable with a little patience. I know that you do not believe that Walter is food motivated but I believe that he has some desire and we can work with it if we have the right treat and if he is hungry enough. Stop feeding him from his bowl. Period. Only allow his caloric intake to come from your hand when other dogs are around. Or from the kong when you are working on relaxing at a distance from you. On days that you can’t work with him then you can feed him from the bowl. Walter can have canned food from the kong and any treat he would like from your hand while we are working with him. Start at a distance!!!! From other dogs, I cannot stress this enough. If Walter ever reacts then you are too close. Give Walter praise and treats every time a dog is near so that he changes the association of approaching dogs. Work slow!! Don’t rush. Walter does not have to do any commands but if you want him to sit then make sure he is sitting in a position where he can see the dog still. We don’t want him to be vulnerable. With time and consistency he should be looking to you for treats when he sees another dog. Please give me progress reports and let me know what else I can clarify or if we need to change our protocol a little. Good luck Heather I know you will do awesome. |
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| Excellant. Keep them coming!
The thing that I find many people have the most trouble with is the time it takes to counter-condition. Baby steps, and short periods of time, and getting a good base before uping the ante by small encrements. Always working below threshold. Takes weeks, sometimes months, depending on how engrained the behavior is, which is usually proportionate to how long it has been going on. |
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