from another thread:

 Quote: Lee_Reicheld

 Quote: Connie Sutherland

 Quote: Lee_Reicheld

 Quote: Connie Sutherland

Negative attention is also verboten!

NO attention. No correction, no shouting, no glaring.

Whining make him invisible .... a blank spot in the room.


JMO, of course. But this has worked for me more than once, with one I created and a couple who came that way.

Do you think this same approach would work for my 9 month old GSD who is constantly barking at every dog while at Schutzhund practice? I am trying to get him to be as non-reactive as possible. I am taking him to as many locations as I can think of with dogs, keeping a good distance, and rewarding when he's not barking. However that all seems to go out the window at our Schutzhund club. I think he's all amped up to go work and stops thinking about the training we have done so far.

Withholding attention-reward? No.

Where is he in relation to the other dogs when this barking is going on?

(The much more experienced sports folks will help.)

Thanks Connie. He is in my Jeep, in the parking area which is about 75' away from the field. It can be a dog going to/from the field or dogs on the field. There are a few pine trees in the way, but not enough to completely block out the view. I have been praising him when he is quiet, which requires me to be at the Jeep. This can be a problem since many times there are only a few of us training in my time slot, so I need to be down on the field for the group exercises. Not to mention chatting with my friends.

I want to correct this behavior now since he will need to start working on the field around other dogs soon.

So the question from Lee is:

"Do you think this same approach would work for my 9 month old GSD who is constantly barking at every dog while at Schutzhund practice? I am trying to get him to be as non-reactive as possible. I am taking him to as many locations as I can think of with dogs, keeping a good distance, and rewarding when he's not barking. However that all seems to go out the window at our Schutzhund club. I think he's all amped up to go work and stops thinking about the training we have done so far.

He is in my Jeep, in the parking area which is about 75' away from the field. It can be a dog going to/from the field or dogs on the field. There are a few pine trees in the way, but not enough to completely block out the view. I have been praising him when he is quiet, which requires me to be at the Jeep. This can be a problem since many times there are only a few of us training in my time slot, so I need to be down on the field for the group exercises. Not to mention chatting with my friends.

I want to correct this behavior now since he will need to start working on the field around other dogs soon."

Thanks Connie!

 Quote:

I want to correct this behavior now since he will need to start working on the field around other dogs soon."

The longer you wait to do this Lee, the harder its going to be. The field is always going to be a different level of excitement then any park. Use distance as you need it, the same type of thing, but take advantage of having dog folks and trained dogs to work him through it.

In the Jeep? E collar if its too much. But most of them bark here and there.

 Quote: steve strom

 Quote:

I want to correct this behavior now since he will need to start working on the field around other dogs soon."

The longer you wait to do this Lee, the harder its going to be. The field is always going to be a different level of excitement then any park. Use distance as you need it, the same type of thing, but take advantage of having dog folks and trained dogs to work him through it.

In the Jeep? E collar if its too much. But most of them bark here and there.

Thanks Steve! I am concerned about the non-stop barking in the Jeep because it's a full on bark. Not just a little yip here and there, and I want him to have all his energy available when it's our turn to head out on the field. I don't want him spending all that adrenaline on the wrong thing. It can be quite some time before it's our turn, depending on what time I get there and our group.

I think next weekend I will speak to my trainer beforehand and explain, so that I can be excused from the group exercises so I can work on this. I will keep him at a distance far enough away that he is interested in what's going on out there, but not close enough to get him barking. I will reward with food when he is calm. Is there anything else I should be working on?

What is the proper use of corrections in this situation? I have him on the prong now, but I have not taught a "speak" or "quiet" command yet. I am guessing it's time to do that. At home he is a very calm, quiet boy and so far I haven't found anything that will produce a bark out of him except for strangers.

yup , it's time to teach that " speak " and " quiet " are markable / rewardable behaviours so that he has an idea of what is expected of him .

 Quote: ian bunbury

yup , it's time to teach that " speak " and " quiet " are markable / rewardable behaviours so that he has an idea of what is expected of him .

Thanks Ian, that's what I figured. I think I have found one thing we will be working on this week!

Lee;

From what I've seen at our club, even though you're able to mark, reward, and get compliance, you may never be able to relieve all of his stress in that situation. That is one thing I had to do with my dog; relieve some stress. She still starts getting amped when we load up to go to the club. You can imagine how much tension she feels while we are there.
She behaves much better now, but she, and certain other dogs, even some with experience, have a difficult time turning off completely in that atmosphere. A full chorus starts when the sleeve and apron come out.

As Steve so wisely stated, that's a completely different atmosphere from any park that you will find. Working line dogs that are wired for action seem to be able to sense when it's time to get busy.

ETA; FOR ME, in my case, not to contradict anyone else, corrections added stress. Also, IMHO, leaving him in the jeep is creating stress. I started out sitting in a lawn chair with my dog in a down, as far from the group as I could physically get. It was kinda lonely, but has paid off big.

Edited by Duane Hull (02/04/2013 02:40 PM)
Edit reason: eta

 Quote: Duane Hull

Lee;

From what I've seen at our club, even though you're able to mark, reward, and get compliance, you may never be able to relieve all of his stress in that situation. That is one thing I had to do with my dog; relieve some stress. She still starts getting amped when we load up to go to the club. You can imagine how much tension she feels while we are there.
She behaves much better now, but she, and certain other dogs, even some with experience, have a difficult time turning off completely in that atmosphere. A full chorus starts when the sleeve and apron come out.

As Steve so wisely stated, that's a completely different atmosphere from any park that you will find. Working line dogs that are wired for action seem to be able to sense when it's time to get busy.

ETA; FOR ME, in my case, not to contradict anyone else, corrections added stress. Also, IMHO, leaving him in the jeep is creating stress. I started out sitting in a lawn chair with my dog in a down, as far from the group as I could physically get. It was kinda lonely, but has paid off big.

Thanks Duane, I think the idea of having him out in a down away from the group is a great one. Kind of hard to do right now when it was all of 5 degrees here yesterday at training, but I think we can make it work. As long as I start far enough away, it should allow me to just reward the behavior I want and not need a correction. If he starts up, that just means I am too close. Does that sound correct?

When the sleeve and stick come out, I know he's going to go bonkers anyway. It's the rest of the time when someone is just getting their dog, walking it for a bathroom break, putting their dog away, etc. that I don't want him going all out crazy and spending all of his adrenaline.

Yes, that is what worked for me, plus a couple of other things. Part of it was redirecting her when she looked like she was ready to react.

For months, I got to the field 30 minutes before the meeting began. I took her to the potty area, then let her check the field out for a few minutes. Once she was to the point where she was satisfied that everything was as she had left it, I did my individual OB, while we were alone.
Once other members began arriving, we removed ourself to her safe zone (which shrank gradually). I would then down her and watch for signs of reactivity. If she started getting nervous, I redirected and/or soothed her, and marked when she was focused on me and calm. I didn't ask her for anything if she wasn't nervous; I just let her chill.

We do bitework last at our meetings. When the bitework began, I did put her away (pet porter in the bed of my truck). By this time of the evening, she was tired and more relaxed. She would then react to some of the comings and goings, but not nearly as severe as when I was leaving her in the truck for most of the night.

One other important note: the more relaxed I was, the more relaxed she was.