BREAKTHROUGH WITH CHARLIE

Board & Train Charlie is one of the sweetest, most affectionate dogs I've had stay in a while but he has some serious resource guarding issues. He has bitten people over a tissue, including his owners. 

His preferred MO is to steal an object from a table and then run under a table or bed with it.  If you pursue and try to take it - he will get downright vicious about it.

If you tried to strongarm him or get physical about it, he has no hesitation in striking out.  This is why I LOVE positive reinforcement.

We have been working very hard on giving up low value items and have managed to create a semblance of a retrieve game but it is by no means full proof yet.  

He is truly a Jeckall and Hyde in this moment - one second a wiggly, wagging, open mouth guy with soft eyes and a big grin and then a hunkered down, super tense, low growling ball of unsprung defensiveness - but as soon as the object is removed it is like he blinks out of it, looks at you, wags his tail and doesn't even know what happened?  There may be some neuro switching going on as the behavior seems a bit disconcerting to him as well.

I started by just being in the same area as him with this low value item then moved up to being able to be beside him with him remaining calm.  I just wanted to show him I wasn't going to try and take it - I am not even looking at him at this point - just coexisting peacefully.  So far so good.

When he was ready, we started with me resting my hand near him then on him.  He is okay with all of this.  I can touch his ears and face while he is chewing a bone and he is good with it.  Open mouth, no pause or tension at all, no hunkering down... His trigger is if you apply pressure to take it - then he feels he has to react.

We had great success with getting him to leave, drop and/or give eye contact away from low-medium value items - but never a high value one such as a hearty chew, antler or rawhide.  To avoid unwanted situations from arising - these things were simply kept out of reach and only given as crate rewards where he would not feel threatened.

So when I saw him heading towards me with a rawhide chew that he had taken from another dog's crate in his mouth, I was a bit concerned. 

But I kicked it into Game Gear and started cheering and applauding for him and he started wagging his tail and brought me the rawhide. I sat on the floor to encourage him to come closer and what he did next surprised me to no end. He dropped it in my hand! Not only did he drop it in my hand, but I was able to get eye contact and getting him to look away from his prize has been extremely difficult. 

He was charged and ready to play the game... he then retrieved this prize rawhide 10 times in a row always dropping it in my lap or in my hand! At the end of the 10 repetitions, I gave it to him to take back to his bed, and he grinned and walked away but kept looking back at me as if "what the game is over?" 

AMAZING JOB CHARLIE!

Bubbie Goes Home

So Bubbie finished his first month here on the farm.  His momma was so glad to see him!   Awwwww - we love moments like these!  He still has a long way to go but he has come along in leaps and bounds.

When a dog comes we ask what issues are specifically problematic and sometimes new issues present themselves that the owner is either unaware of or didn't really think were a problem.  In Bubbie's case it was pretty much all up front...just behind those pearly canines.  V----V

When a dog is leaving us to return home, we shoot a support video demonstrating the techniques, cues and hand signals used during their time here, with helpful bits of advice to help the owner continue their training.  We do a two hour "hand over" where questions are asked, the dog demonstrates what they have learned and everyone gets a chance to talk about the experience and what expectations they have moving forward.

Since Ariel, my apprentice, did alot of the work with Bubbie's obedience, I let her shoot the support video.  As this was her first video, we had some interesting outtakes.  Here is a sample of the video we shot for Bubbie's owner.

Bubbie will be returning to us in November to continue his training - working specifically next time with his aggression using BAT, TTouch and LAT training techniques.  Stay tuned to see his progress.  

If you have a reactive or aggressive dog that is in need of help - check out some of these great resources:

Click to Calm

Behavior Adjustment Training

LAT - Look at That Training

Control Unleashed

TTouch for Dogs

Relaxation Protocols

3LostDogs Reactivity eBook

UPDATE: Bubbie Week 2

Bubbie spent the day with Ariel today at her family's house.    This gave him a chance to meet new people and dogs and practice his social skills. Here is her report from the day.

"So not long after you left I packed up Bubbie and the girls and headed to my parents house. He was much calmer about being approached by new people, and though apprehensive, briefly sniffed Hannah, who he'd never met before. We did a training session in my bedroom where he had been sitting in his crate, so he was more comfortable. I was able to get him to lie down easily on the bed, and then moved to a pillow on the floor, which he quickly picked up, then downing on a pillowcase on the floor, and finally the floor itself. 

We then moved into the hallway after a dozen or so times doing down on the carpet. And although initially hesitant, he was soon downing with speed in order to get dehydrated liver, one of his new favorites.

Later he took a walk with all of my dogs, and my parents dogs and had stretches of loose leash, though I didn't focus on it because he was doing so well navigating between the other 5 dogs. He was a little nervous leading the pack and having other dogs walk behind him, so we walked behind everybody else and he did fabulously. We then let him inside with everybody and he sat with the pack to get a treat.

He and Scout immediately dropped into play bows, and after telling Shiloh off for pouncing on him in a Luka-ish way, Bubbie, Kismet, and Scout tore through the house and Bubbie and Scout took to diving over and under my parents bed. Silly boy! Glad he was having fun. I'll update again tomorrow. Have a great night."

After reviewing the video from the day, I can definitely say he is improving with his dog socialization skills.  He is still unsure and had a few warning snaps at Scout, but overall it is much better than it has been.  He even tolerated Scout licking him in the face, which in itself is a huge accomplishment.

 

UPDATE - Bubbie Week 2

Bubbie continues to make progress here at the farm.  Some of his biggest strides this week have been in handling everyday stresses and gaining confidence around the other dogs.

There was a time, not so long ago, that he would ferociously chase and go after any dog that came close.  He is developing relationships now not only with the small dogs he rooms with but just today he played with one of the big pups - Piper.  She is almost 30lbs and while unsure for most of it, he offered some play behavior that we hadn't seen before.  We are very proud of his progress.

Another step in his rehabilitation is his offleash work.  He has been very reliable around here, but today we ventured back to the lake to work with him offleash.  His owner came with us to spend some time with her boy and was very impressed with both his offleash behavior and his recall.  He even did a recall from the shore to her in the water!  Good boy Bubbie!

Bubbie Update

Bubbie's mom came for a visit today to check on how things were progressing and say Hi. She was very happy with his progress and couldn't believe he was as far along in some things, like being offleash, as he is.

Pet owners are always welcome to come a visit their pets while in our care.  We welcome the chance to show you how they're doing.  

Here is where he is up to:

Bubbie Update

Bubbie has been with us a few days now and is progressing well.  Ariel has taken the lead with him and has been working hard with her small dogs to make him feel at home.  She is working to begin building his confidence and to start changing his thoughts towards new people and situations.

Pawtential Profile: Bubbie

Name:  Bubbie
Breed:  Chihuahua
Sex:  Male
Age: 18 months


Duration: 4 week Board & Train


Reason for B&T:  Aggression, shyness and general obedience work



Background:  Bubbie was adopted 3 months ago from a puppy mill/hoarding situation where 100 dogs were rescued.  He has had very little socialization and appears fearful of new people [esp men and children], new situations and larger dogs.  He has bitten his new owner several times to the blood, several other people have been nipped or bitten and in general he is a bit of a nervous wreck.  


What we are working on during his stay:
**Aggression cannot be fixed in such a short time so we are working on the foundation for a calm, more confident dog which will make it easier to help him relax in new situations.**


OWNERS REQUESTS:
* Basic Obedience - he will be completing an expedited Big Dog University 101 - Look, Leave It, Touch, Sit, Down, Stay, Wait 
* Loose Leash Walking - currently a very forward, lean sideways into the harness type puller
* Recall - owner says he has an unreliable recall and has not trusted him outside off leash
* Sharing Attention - if owner is holding another pet - he gets frantic and begins barking & jumping at her until the other pet leaves
* Housebreaking - having at least one accident in the house every day - sometimes several
* Paws Up for Pickup - owner having difficulty catching him to take him anywhere - teaching him to put his paws up on the leg to be picked up


Introducing Bubbie: