Reporting in from the evening walk. Success! Jethro gave the eye to an oncoming dog and I told him to leave it. He gave a low growl and I said, Uh Uh (verbal correction). He ignored that and I gave him a nice, fast snap sideways on his halti head collar. He was surprised alright. He kind of shook himself, looked at me, and we moved off sideways, out of harms way.

I get it. I have been letting him react because I thought it was something that I couldn't really control. But I can. We had a nice brisk walk with Jethro on a nice, loose, 3" leash. No sniffing, no trouble. I gave him scheduled pee breaks and the rest of the time we were on the move.

We practiced OB at low distraction locations for variety. We also did some tummy rubs in a medium distraction setting and he was laying there with his eyes half closed as a group of people walked by.

We played in the yard when we got back, and when he tried to charge the fence I gave him a sharp verbal corrective and he knew I meant business and did not follow through. He ended his play time (which included making mad dashes around the house with speed turns to reverse direction) with him on his back getting another tummy rub.

I feel so much better! There is hope!

And now he rests quietly in his crate, awaiting his next outing.

That is good to hear. You keep this up and the next thing you know, you will both be relaxed.

Good job Jenny!!!


ETA: Corrections on a halti really snap the dog's head, which really interrupts their train of thought and helps to break the escalation chain. It also breaks their eye contact, which helps as well.

I had a leash hard pit / lab rescue that was really DA, and I ended up using a halti. He would fight right through a prong, but the halti was a whole new ball game, and he straightened up most ricky-tic.

 Quote: Jenny Arntzen

Reporting in from the evening walk. Success!

I get it. I have been letting him react because I thought it was something that I couldn't really control. But I can.

I feel so much better! There is hope!

That is awesome! You will find that your mindset (and your dog's) will completely change. Instead of walking around dreading the next unexpected trigger, you will start to enjoy outings again and Jethro will be able to relax, knowing that you are in charge.

I know it can be tough at first when you have invested so much time and energy into "positive" methods (I did it for years with my last dog), but then you realize that dogs don't take corrections personally, but as information. It's us the humans who read too much into it emotionally.

I'm looking forward to more updates!

The morning walk was great. When I view Jethro's reactivity as self-rewarding, it really changes how I address it. This morning my husband, whom Jethro knows and works with every day (!) came in the house with shorts on and Jethro gave a bit of a posture towards him (!!). I absolutely took control and let him know in no uncertain terms that was unacceptable. It probably took less than a minute for Jethro to give me that look of: "What do you want me to do next?" and I let him say hello to Husband in the usual fashion.

I get it. Jethro needs corrections for blowing off OB. I give an OB when I want his attention. He is not allowed to blow off OB, no matter what.

I have stopped walking the two dogs together for the time being, I just need to focus on re-calibrating my handling with Jethro. It isn't that the last two years work has been for nought, it is that I have been missing this piece of the puzzle. I am fed up with the behaviour, it is dangerous, and I can stop it. And my dog wants me to stop it, too.

I can use positive methods for everything, except when a command is blown off. In these early days, I have to be in a position to administer a correction, so that Jethro starts to establish a strong connection between disobedience and correction.

Because his reactive behaviour is self-rewarding, no matter how hard I worked on training him for engagement with me, there would always be that instance, where he would choose the higher value (in his mind) reward.

One thing I tried this morning that was a lot of fun, was giving him the focus command, and then, as he gazed in my eyes, sending him a positive emotional charge with "good dog, what a good dog, etc." smiling at him and giving him the love. The next time I said, "Focus" his eyes were on me like laser beams.

Jenny...ive participated in most of your threads about Jethro..so I feel a bit of a connection because of my experiences with Tucker and his DA.
I just want to point out to you, and im saying this in the most heartfelt manner, don't get caught up in exactly what is setting Jethro off. It doesn't matter what is setting him off...puppies, squirrels, dogs, husbands etc etc. What matters is that he has to learn to do what he's told. I don't want you getting sidetracked by trying to figure out what sets him off.
I would work DILIGENTLY on "leave it" & "no" or "stop" or any other word you want to put to it.

After you gave Jethro the snap on the halti, what did you do then?
Are you still putting the previous advice given to you about keeping Jethro moving, not stopping and "leading" him forward and past his reactive state?
I tried to find it, but why is he not on a Prong Collar? I can't remember...lol.

I, like others here, also use the leave it command on Tucker when we're out and I see him focusing too much on something.
Leave it, in any situation for me, means forget about it buddy.
wether it be a dropped hamburger patty, a squirrel in the park or the yappy anklebiters next door that live to attack the fence.
I only use no when im marker training and we're at the stage where he's getting it, but sometimes needs a little reminder that what he's offering me isn't what im looking for. And even then it's just an upbeat "nope" so he knows thats incorrect.

 Quote: Tabatha Farnel

I know it can be tough at first when you have invested so much time and energy into "positive" methods (I did it for years with my last dog), but then you realize that dogs don't take corrections personally, but as information. It's us the humans who read too much into it emotionally.

Well said Tabatha!

This is a great thread, so glad to hear this is going well.

I also get that it doesn't matter what the trigger is, if the correction is being given for non-compliance with an OB command. That does make it much simpler. Yes, the dog has to know what the command means - which is why we train, practice and proof with them.

I realize I have put a lot of energy into reading the environment and trying to get Jethro to choose not to react in a provoking situation. But he isn't going to make that choice on his own because, on some level, it feels good to let fly. It is much more difficult for him to choose to look away, or turn his back on the situation. That is what I am there for, to teach him that.

A mountain of treats is not going to compete with the fresh trail of a coyote.

 Quote: Jenny Arntzen

I also get that it doesn't matter what the trigger is, if the correction is being given for non-compliance with an OB command. That does make it much simpler. Yes, the dog has to know what the command means - which is why we train, practice and proof with them.

I realize I have put a lot of energy into reading the environment and trying to get Jethro to choose not to react in a provoking situation. But he isn't going to make that choice on his own because, on some level, it feels good to let fly. It is much more difficult for him to choose to look away, or turn his back on the situation. That is what I am there for, to teach him that.

A mountain of treats is not going to compete with the fresh trail of a coyote.

Just to clarify, you're saying that you see now that HE does not get to choose, to make that decision, right?

 Quote: Jenny Arntzen

I also get that it doesn't matter what the trigger is, if the correction is being given for non-compliance with an OB command. That does make it much simpler. Yes, the dog has to know what the command means - which is why we train, practice and proof with them.

I realize I have put a lot of energy into reading the environment and trying to get Jethro to choose not to react in a provoking situation. But he isn't going to make that choice on his own because, on some level, it feels good to let fly. It is much more difficult for him to choose to look away, or turn his back on the situation. That is what I am there for, to teach him that.

A mountain of treats is not going to compete with the fresh trail of a coyote.

A reactive dog needs someone with the confidence to say no. That gives security. You train, set them up for success, then sometimes you say say, nope, that's not happening (correction). When done correctly, this builds confidence because you step up and become the leader in a situation that they're not sure about "oh, guess I'm not supposed to worry about XXX after all"

Sometimes we focus so much on positive (and I'm not knocking that at all!!) that we kinda forget that dogs also learn quite well from well timed, well placed corrections.