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Calling Owners Of Reactive Dogs....


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So I think everyone in the entire world must know Finndog by now :rolleyes: Since getting back down to York and being out and about more often, I've been reminded about some of the issues I still need to work on. Its not that I expect him to be a perfect dog, but I do want him to be as happy and relaxed as possible.

 

  • children, especially under 10yrs and even more so toddlers/babies (noise, movements)
  • people leaving (house, area, training barn etc)
  • dogs onlead pulling toward or in close proximity
  • footballs being kicked (its the noise that terrifies him)

 

The first two provoke classic collie lunge/nip responses. Its about 2 years since he's had to be muzzled, mostly because we control the situations and honestly they don't come up that much.

 

All but the football reactions are much reduced from the original state, so there's some lunging but not full weight, sometimes barking but not that horrid high pitched "I've-lost-my-mind-and-oh-god-I'm-going-to-die" type.

 

We're setting up a one-2-one with our trainer re: kids and people, and have asked to do more on lead approaches in class. Also have realised I need to take treats with me when I run so when we see approaching dogs I can slow down, ask for behaviour and use high-frequency rewarding. :rolleyes: thank goodness Farah is just curious, definitely couldn't do this with both dogs!

 

So.....what are you still working on with your dogs??? And any suggestions/ideas you want to share?

 

cheers

Morag

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  • 1 month later...

Haha, I'm still working on "trust me" with Raven. But I have to say it's getting better - have you read Control Unleashed? There's some good tips in there. (apologies if you've already been given this advice, I haven't been here since May!)

 

I found the "look at that" game a real winner. Raven actually met a new dog yesterday and offered play behaviour. Unfortunately the other dog thought she was the scariest darn thing he'd ever seen and didn't want a bar of her :rolleyes: oh well...

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Thanks, I was trying to remember the name of that book as my new girlie is very intelligent and quite reactive. She has a very nice nature and loves all dogs, and throws a strop if she isn't allowed to go and kiss them. Off lead her recall is completely unpredictable, but being mostly pointer inclines her to that anyway. She loves me but I don't exactly connect with her yet. Not her fault or mine, she has been from pillar to post and although she is friendly and affectionate I don't think she feels she can rely on me yet.

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