adopt your foster dog if it meant that you had to give up fostering??
Would you..
Charliethree
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Post 'walk in the country' fallout.
Caught 'someone' sleeping on the job!!
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Might as well get comfy.
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For those who are interested: The book Stress, Anxiety and Aggression by Anders Hallgren, provides an informative look at how stress impacts our dogs. Well worth taking the time to read.
Caught 'someone' sleeping on the job!!
Might as well get comfy.
For those who are interested: The book Stress, Anxiety and Aggression by Anders Hallgren, provides an informative look at how stress impacts our dogs. Well worth taking the time to read.
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3,959 Posts
https://thecognitivecanine.com/2016/10/19/matters-of-consent/
We don't often think much about not giving our dogs a 'choice' in the many things we ask of them, sometimes even ignoring their obvious reluctance, apprehensions. In a time of crisis or emergency, we are forced to do what we 'have' to do, but the vast majority of the time, we are able to delay or alter our approach, and willing cooperation, giving them a 'choice' and listening when they say 'No', should be our priority and our goal.
We don't often think much about not giving our dogs a 'choice' in the many things we ask of them, sometimes even ignoring their obvious reluctance, apprehensions. In a time of crisis or emergency, we are forced to do what we 'have' to do, but the vast majority of the time, we are able to delay or alter our approach, and willing cooperation, giving them a 'choice' and listening when they say 'No', should be our priority and our goal.
The above post is so true. I have noticed with Jack that often when he is reluctant to engage in some activity and I simply allow him to do what he feels comfortable with doing the stress level in him drops visibly. Jack is very hesitant to try new things and I have learned over the years that if he balks at first it is better to just leave him be and allow him the opportunity to "think it through" and decide for himself if it is something he wants to try. An example of this was last fall when I bought Bailey Jump and weave polls since Bailey very much enjoys them. I tried two or three times to interest Jack in them but he was not about to give them a try. I let him be and he sat and very carefully watched Bailey. One day, out of nowhere, I was working with Bailey on his jump poles and Jack came barreling at the poles. He came to a sudden halt at the bar looked at it and jumped straight into the air in an attempt to jump over it (knocking everything to the ground, of course). A little while later he tried again and this time ran and jumped at the right time. He didn't clear the pole but he had the idea. Because it is winter and the ground is too frozen to put the poles up we haven't done them for a while but last time we tried Jack was occasionally able to make it over the pole and he is usually eager to try. So, sometimes it is best to allow them their own time table for doing things and allow them to make choices as to what they do.
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I have found, especially with Joseph and Charlie, that this works so well in practice, and is huge for reinforcing confidence and trust. They know that I am not going to 'make them' do what I have asked them to do, and therefore are more willing to give it a try (or offer the behavior) on their own. For example: getting their collars, on is something they were both showing active avoidance of, so we worked through a program of 'shaping' the behavior. First they were rewarded for approaching while I held the collar in my hand, then I waited until they 'touched' the collar with their nose, marked and rewarded for that, gradually working with them to the point where I can hold the collar up, and they easily choose to place their heads into their collars. Took some patience, lots of praise and rewards, but, in giving them the choice, they were able to trust that nothing bad was going to happen to them, and are quite happy to 'get dressed'.
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If we 'had' to put a collar on them, laying the collar across their necks would cause them to 'freeze' and 'tolerate' having it done up. They learned over time that collar = walks, but my goal was to change their association with it.
They were familiar with shaping (offering behaviors) so once they were touching the collar with their nose, comfortable with the sight of it, it went pretty fast from there. I didn't really track how long it took, we did a two or three sessions a day, but probably about 2 weeks, to get that 'happy' response.
They were familiar with shaping (offering behaviors) so once they were touching the collar with their nose, comfortable with the sight of it, it went pretty fast from there. I didn't really track how long it took, we did a two or three sessions a day, but probably about 2 weeks, to get that 'happy' response.
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An excellent blog, something to think seriously about.
If you haven't read 'Bones Would Rain from the Sky' I highly recommend it.
There are no guarantees. No easy fixes. But there is transcendence. ? Wildflower Dog Training
If you haven't read 'Bones Would Rain from the Sky' I highly recommend it.
There are no guarantees. No easy fixes. But there is transcendence. ? Wildflower Dog Training
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The evolution of the art of taking our relationships with our dogs to a whole new level.
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Was laying on the floor last night playing with Joseph, (Milo and Charlie had taken over the couch) pretending to chew the remnants of his soggy bathroom tissue tube. The look on his face was priceless! Puzzled, shocked, curious, he watched me intensely. Then I would offer it back to him, much to his relief, and he would gently take it from me, I would take another piece to 'chew', he would drop the piece he had in his mouth, and resume watching me, with that confused, sweet faced questioning look. Didn't take him long to figure out I was playing a game, and he was quite enjoying it, but I had to call it quits when he began sticking his big paw in my face.
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He is such a sweetie pie, he really is! truly couldn't ask for a nicer dog.
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Thanks for thinking of Joseph. He is doing wonderfully! We have a new 'trick', he thinks it is fantastic fun. We have gotten 'back up' on cue, so we play a game, I call him to me, once he gets to me, I say 'Back up' and he will start backing up across the room. To add some fun I will throw in a sit or down cue, when he is part way, and then tell him to 'back up' again and he keeps going until he hits his bed. He is such a hoot! Such a sweetheart! Loves to play these games!!
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I want to learn how to do this! I think you guys are quite a bit more advanced than we are currently
Glad he's having fun and learning and enjoying life!
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That he is!!I want to learn how to do this! I think you guys are quite a bit more advanced than we are currently
Glad he's having fun and learning and enjoying life!
To teach Joseph to 'back up', I shaped it. I started with him standing in front of me, and I would take a small step towards him, saying 'Back up', if he moved backwards even with one hind paw, I marked and rewarded it. Progressing to asking for more and more backward steps, as I moved forward with him, rewarding as we moved. Once he understood what I was asking of him, I could just give him the 'Back up' cue. It is a really good exercise for teaching hind end awareness, and to strengthen the back end.
Some dogs will automatically back up if you lean towards them, or step into their space, if that happens, then you can 'capture' it, 'mark and reward' it. Baby gates work well for this too. Have the dog stand close to the gate, on the 'inside' so the gate swings towards them, give them the back up cue as you slowly open the gate. Mark and reward when they move back away from the gate. They catch on pretty quickly.
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