Where I am at now. It is a combination of addressing unwanted behaviour at its inception, not once it has gone too far, and it is focusing on the fact that I am the boss and I am giving instruction on what we are going to focus on.

This morning's walk was better. I worked on training a nice quick turn back to me with the command Turn. When he was looking at something I didn't want him to look at, I got him to turn his whole body back to me and move away from whatever was interesting to him. We practiced with no distractions, and then used it when we saw a dog approaching (a number of times).

Just to repeat, I see the main difference in my approach is that I decided what he was going to look at. I didn't care what it was, I didn't worry about whether he was going to be triggered or not. I wanted him to look at me and give me his whole attention. Period.

He did not have one instance of over-arousal on this morning's walk.

I am wondering if anyone has a success story with a dog like Jethro? Or is there a reliable video or something somewhere? I would really like to see a before/after video of a reactive dog that was trained this way. Is it possible/likely that a dog like Jethro could be trained so that he could be around puppies, babies, off leash, etc?
It's so encouraging to hear the success she's having, just wondering what the ultimate goal or "finished product", so to speak, will be?

BTW the issue of scent reactivity is easily addressed with a short leash that forces Jethro to walk with his head up. We do like to walk at a nice quick pace when it is just the two of us.

 Quote: Jonathan Frost

I am wondering if anyone has a success story with a dog like Jethro? Or is there a reliable video or something somewhere? I would really like to see a before/after video of a reactive dog that was trained this way. Is it possible/likely that a dog like Jethro could be trained so that he could be around puppies, babies, off leash, etc?
It's so encouraging to hear the success she's having, just wondering what the ultimate goal or "finished product", so to speak, will be?

My Dog was successfully trained using the methods described.
I, unfortunately don't have video of what Tucker was like when I first got him from a rescue. But it was not an easy fix and took almost a year of constant work to get him to where we are today.

Some DA dogs may work through their behaviour enough to be able to interact and play with other dogs. That is not the case with all dogs though.
Tucker worked through his issues but still has absolutely no use for other dogs. So it's not that he's changed his mind about other dogs, and given the chance he would attack, I have no doubt about that....he just now understands that he doesn't have to flip out and attack every single one that comes within 20 feet of him. I take care of wayward dogs that get too close to us. It's not his job anymore. Is he around babies or kids...never. There's too many things that can go wrong quickly, and im not willing to put him or others at risk. But i would be like that with any dog, not just with him.
Im not sure what Jens end goal is, mine was to be able to walk by another dog and not have Tucker lunging around like a wild horse and snarling like a Tazmanian Devil. He always wanted to attack first...ask questions later. Now, we can walk past any dog, dogs and he will look at them, and that's fine....if he wants to keep an eye on them i have no problem with that. As long as when i call his name he takes his eyes off them and looks up at me and he's not posturing, he's golden. I don't push him limits. I know his comfort zone and make sure the other dog stays out of it. I never allow anyone to pass by me on the left side, even if it means I have to walk on someones lawn or onto the road. That's his area of comfort and I let him have it.


Jen, sounds like you are on the right track.

side note: be very conscious of his body language, I can't stress that enough. They are a big key to success.

What Wendy describes is what I now have with my dog.

The stress is gone.

But I'm never going to bring it back by pushing him past where we are now, which is very doable.

Off-leash around strange dogs is something I just don't do, period, with this dog or any of my dogs. Same with off-leash around any babies.


Wendy says "It's not his job anymore."

Bingo.


ETA
"side note: be very conscious of his body language, I can't stress that enough. "

Ditto. While staying calm and not being perceived as hanging anxiously over the dog, waiting ....

Some of this, at this point, is a stage-type act (for me, anyway). I am 100% aware of the dog's focus and body language, but the awareness is gleaned from a standing -tall, calm and collected, I'm-in-charge posture and demeanor.

Edited by Connie Sutherland (05/09/2012 11:34 AM)
Edit reason: ETA

 Quote:

I am wondering if anyone has a success story with a dog like Jethro? Or is there a reliable video or something somewhere? I would really like to see a before/after video of a reactive dog that was trained this way. Is it possible/likely that a dog like Jethro could be trained so that he could be around puppies, babies, off leash, etc?
It's so encouraging to hear the success she's having, just wondering what the ultimate goal or "finished product", so to speak, will be?

Success is measured in many ways. And it is dependent on many things.

I have a dog reactive dog. He's also a wilderness SAR dog. Lots of training (mostly positive with a few corrections thrown in as needed), a dog that wants to work with me and a solid understanding of his job/desire to work makes it work. When he's working, he's learned to just tune everything else out. But I'm not taking to him to any doggie social groups - he'd probably have a meltdown.

He gets along fine with my other dog and has always bomb proof around people. To me, this is success.

My definition of success changes as I learn more about this dog. I would like to give him a job, he is a working dog and needs a job to do. I am thinking something with scent would be very satisfying for him. I don't mean he would do it professionally, but we could do nosework together and tire him out with that.

I cannot see him off leash. Jethro is not DA with every dog he meets. He is more 60% okay (he has dog friends and has met new dogs that he did not react to at all) and 20% unreliable (he has had reactions in the past but seems to be okay most of the time now) and 20% (certain dogs in the neighbourhood that he absolutely goes ape shit - Rusty, Django, Sasha, the little white dog).

This whole people reactive thing is new, and I can't help but wonder if it hasn't been exacerbated by the fact that we have carpenters and sub-trades working on our house Mon - Fri (coming and going through the gate, the front door, making noise, etc.). Whatever, he is definitely a frightening dog and I don't want him to hurt anyone, so I can't imagine that he will ever, ever be off leash in any sort of public situation (ie. a remote chance of running into another person).

I keep working on his recall for emergency purposes, but we only really test it off leash inside our yard and the house. Unless there is an breach in the fence, as there was, once, and he gets out. We were able to round him up without any more damage than a light spray from a skunk.

I am starting to see that he will never be like Skipper, who can go out onto the soccer field and chase a ball, ignoring other dogs, and have a good run out that way. Jethro takes his mad dashes running laps around the house to release energy, and likes to play tug with the jolly ball on a rope.

I see Jethro leading a controlled life, he isn't left unattended for more than a couple of minutes in the house, never in the yard, and never, ever outside the yard. We have a healthy respect for what he can and cannot handle, taking similar precautions as are described above.

This is interesting to me because my Aussie is dog reactive, although very mild compared to what I am reading and learning. When he's around other dogs off leash he's fine. Very unassuming and quite submissive, playful or ignores them. We were in Petsmart today and he saw several dogs and was fine, played a little with an Aussie puppy. On our way in I looked down and he was nose to nose with a strange dog I didn't even see come up on us, and he was fine and happy to make a new friend. His problem is when we are walking and see another dog on a leash. Then he barks and growls. I suspect this is something quite different than what Jethro is dealing with. He only reacts when we are out on a walk, and has made huge improvement in that area. This thread has been a great education for me! So thanks to everyone who's contributing.

A very nice midday walk. We went for a walk with my friend, and got right down onto a busy street. Jethro was right by my side, no reactive incidents. Lots of pedestrians. After we got onto a sidestreet, I saw a pedestrian coming up from behind and took immediate remediative action, knowing that Jethro might have a reaction, after keeping it together on the main street. Sure enough, I saw a little tension, but no one else would have known, because we took care of it without needing a correction. Treats are my friend : )

On the way home, we were about three blocks from the house and I thought, "Wow, three blocks from home and no ass kicking reactions! But I knew better than to rest on my laurels and sure enough, 1/2 a block from home I see a new puppy being walked right past our house. I took evasive action and moved Jethro across the street before he saw it and by the time he saw it and registered it as a puppy we were heading east putting more and more distance between us and them. Jethro tried to get up a reaction, but I kept his head in my direction and we got through it without a growl or a bark, let alone a lunge. I count that as success.

As we doubled back to get to our front gate we passed the puppy trail. Jethro tried to get a noseful, but I gave him a quick pop and he didn't have a chance.

I think the big turnaround here, for me, is that my bubble of denial has been burst. I can no longer pretend this is something Jethro will grow out of, or, this one time he will not do what he has done every other time he has been in this situation (ie. there's a puppy, maybe this time he won't react).

Jonathan's question was a good one, what is the future for me and this dog? Because it made me envision a future where he is under constant control, and I don't feel guilty about it, thinking he doesn't have enough 'freedom'.

".... Because it made me envision a future where he is under constant control, and I don't feel guilty about it, thinking he doesn't have enough 'freedom'."


You're getting it Jenny!


Good job you!