REACTIVE DOG CLASS MODULE 4
SOUND SENSITIVITY
Here is an example of how I work on helping a dog that is not comfortable with certain sounds. It's not always possible to recreate the exact sounds they react to, but the more different sounds you work to comfort level the more coping skills you are giving your dog for when they do hear odd sounds. Also you are learning through the process what stress signals they throw at the earlier levels and what they respond best to when you are trying to help them.
HOW OXYTOCIN AFFECTS DOGS AND PEOPLE
CLICKER TRAINING FOR REACTIVE DOGS
This clicker exercise is especially for those of you with fearful dogs, are pups that are spooking at seeing weird things, scared of noises, and dogs that lack a lot of confidence when they go out in the world. One of the best things you can do for a pup like this is to teach them they can be in control of learning, that they can push behaviors to earn. Getting a dog to interact directly with scary things is so much better than luring or coaxing them to. If you have never used a clicker please note your dog might at first be worried about the click sound, so start with a soft click (they make a range of clickers, the ones I use are cheap and loud, they make much softer ones) you can even start with the sound of a pen click, and you can put the clicker in your pocket or have someone stand further away to click it the first couple times. If your dog is afraid of the clicker you can do the training using a marker word like "yes" too, but for many dogs the strength of a sound that only means cookie can become a super powerful tool for your reactivity work.
While I am sharing this mostly for those of you with the scared timid pups, there is no down side to anyone doing this training :) So feel free. I'll also add a file with written instructions, but here you can see Nick's very first clicker shaping sessions.
Many of my reactive students who didn’t see the value in using a clicker ended up taking one of my clicker classes for trick training and they were all surprised how effect it was for working on reactivity. Why would a clicker have a different response than your “yes”? Because people suck at hiding emotion from their voices and a clicker in neutral and only carries the association with reward. Our voices can mean many things including negative emotions, so your “yes” might sound very different when you are stressed vs at home training fun things, but a clicker sounds the same no matter how stressed you are personally feeling so I thing it can be a great tool for your toolbox!
BASIC OBEDIENCE SKILLS
Let's take a look at your dog's basic understanding of obedience commands. Loose leash walking and a good stay are two of the most important exercises for a reactive dog to know! Leash frustration is a huge trigger so having your dog know how to walk on a loose leash can alleviate a lot of reactivity due to frustration and can help keep a dog calmer overall. A stay can help a reactive dog learn how to stay grounded in situations that make them nervous.
HOMEWORK MODULE 4
Look at it
Some triggers may still be in the classical conditioning stages - like barking dogs, scary people, running triggers, etc. But your softer triggers you hopefully are approaching the stage where your dog is able to look back at you easily, and able to perform simple behaviors. If not, don’t lose hope or get frustrated, I have worked with many dogs that have taken several months at the conditioning stage and still achieved rehabilitation.
Place
Hopefully you are practicing your place. It’s very helpful work for helping your dog calm and settle in a spot when you are out and about. Once you are able to work on place outside, take you mat to a place where you can sit down on a bench. Sit down and work on the place, after clicking for a few sends, start to see how long you can hold your dog on the spot, using treats to increase your time but randomly doling them out as your pup is on the spot.
Tap & Turn
Don’t overdo this game, keep it fresh and fun, but occasionally throw it in to your training. This is kept up as an emergency u-turn when you need to make distance quickly so keep it fun in training! Remember your touch is not a mean poke, itʼs like a tap on someoneʼs shoulder, and itʼs an invitation to chase you. Start without triggers present so the game is not yet associated with a trigger. Use sniff distractions, food distractions, you can set out toys. Make catching you loads of fun!!! This week is a training week for the exercise so donʼt use it with triggers until you have done a full practice week.
Sound sensitivity and clicker training exercises
If your dog has issues with sounds or they lack overall confidence these are great games to work on their ability to control outcomes.
Basic Obedience
Loose leash walking and bombproof stays are essential skills for reactive dogs!