Jethro and I have been making great progress and we are getting much more attuned to knowing what he can and cannot handle in a given situation. I would like to get feedback and suggestions on how to approach this particular challenge.

Jethro is highly reactive to puppies. I have figured out that it is scent related. For instance, if the wind is blowing in the right direction, he will go hairy ape sh!t from a block and a half away from a puppy walking away from us. In another instance, Jethro had not actually seen a puppy from across the road, because we had parked cars between us, but when we crossed the street and crossed the puppy's scent he went crazy.

His reactions are typically the same: hackles up, huffing and puffing, nose to the ground (if the scent is on the ground), nose in the air, if it is blowing toward us, growling, barking, lunging, a full blown reactive event.

My efforts at desensitization have not been successful because I have been thinking it was the sight of the puppy that was throwing him over the edge, when it was the smell. Another aspect of the challenge is that I cannot predict exactly when or where we are going to cross the path of a puppy, but it happens pretty much every walk, at least once.

Now that I have identified scent as the trigger, I am working on new ideas to work with it to help Jethro settle down. I am using BAT techniques to help him reduce his overall reactivity to the numerous triggers that can set him off. I'm trying to figure out some methods to help with this one.

It is hard to find a proximal working zone with the puppy scent, because either we aren't close enough for him to detect it, or he has detected it and is in a very rapid escalation of reaction.

I don't know what it is about the puppy scent that sets him off. He acts like he wants to kill the puppy. I mean, he is putting on a very aggressive, realistic display of posturing and I dare not find out what he would do if he could actually have his way.

With a lot of Jethro's reactivity, letting him get a sniff of something seems to help him settle the thing in his mind and soon it is no longer an issue. The trick is figuring out how to set up conditions for him to become familiar with the scent so that he can settle down, without him going over the top before any training can happen.

Please note - Jethro is highly treat motivated, and also responds to praise and scratches. He is wonderful with his clicker training. He does not do well with force, as it tends to exacerbate his reaction. I am using a halti head collar, and it is working well because I can calmly use upward pressure with the leash, which makes it impossible for him to maintain his focus on whatever is bothering him.

I would say all of our good progress has been with visual distractions, probably because I can see them, too, and instigate evasive manouvers to maximize training and minimize reactive events. With scents, he can detect things that I can't see, and then we are into the sh!t storm I described earlier.

In one scent related instance, it was a critter path, and everytime we came near it he would lunge to follow the scent. I worked on getting him to Sit, and Wait, in and around that path, and then gave him permission to sniff when he had calmed down a bit. Now we can walk by that spot without the least reaction.

Any ideas? There are a lot of new puppies in the neighbourhood!

Among most dogs there seems to be a hardwired "slack is given" to pups <4 months old. But perhaps his territoriality is such that he is driven to make his "point" now, before they get any bigger.
Any chance he could make friends with a puppy? While wearing a muzzle, on neutral ground? Could a guarding adult male learn that pups are silly and fun and 0 threat?

Would there be any possibility of getting puppy scent on an object, something he souldn't normally destroy? That way perhaps you could get some idea as to his reaction.

I have made friends (at a distance) with one of the new puppy owners. Jethro has a super-pac reaction to this pup. I wonder if I could get her to let her pup sleep on a towel for a few days, and then I could use the towel as a decoy for training. I like that idea a lot. I will ask Sasha's owner the next time I see her. She is very sympathetic and appreciative of the work I am doing with Jethro.

I think it is time for me to get Jethro a muzzle and train him to accept it. That might actually be a really useful way to work on his thresholds without putting anyone else at risk.

Luckily Skipper has taught Jethro great bite inhibition, but we don't want to test that!

 Quote: Jenny Arntzen

I think it is time for me to get Jethro a muzzle and train him to accept it. That might actually be a really useful way to work on his thresholds without putting anyone else at risk.

You can go ahead and put a muzzle on him, but don't think he can't hurt someone with it on.I think he already has the idea that he can do whatever he wants, and you may think you don't have to be as careful with him wearing one. Whats a super-pac?

I don't want to sound like I'm beating an old drum again ... just looking for updating on his ob.

How is his ob, the fallback ob, that is the backbone of desensitizing?

I understand that there's a new target.

I'm wondering how the ob under distraction was going before the puppeis?

Feedback and suggestions:
Nevermind the lifelong quest for discovery of thresholds, forget the word reactive, get rid of the halti.
He's doing what he wants when he puts on the full blown event. That display is rewarding. He feels more powerful and in control, just what an insecure dog loves.

You may have identified A trigger, but its always going to be something. Something different in any given situation.He needs to know what leave it means.Whether its puppies on the wind or the neighbor in their yard.What I worry about Jenny is that this has gone on so long, in my opinion you're not ready for the fight this is going to be. I really think you need to find some help from a trainer. Not a "behaviorist" or author. Someone who understands OBEDIENCE.

 Quote: steve strom

He needs to know what leave it means.Whether its puppies on the wind or the neighbor in their yard.

This was a huge step for my dog. We are still working on desensitizing at the club (and a private session with a fellow forum member who graciously donated her Friday evening), but we weren't getting anywhere until she learned to refocus on command. Not a one time thing; command works for us whether it's a dog, a minibike, or the mailman, all of which she is reactive to. Combined that with her insane food drive to redirect her and I'm starting to see real progress.