[nagdu] Hannah,Re: howling was RE: Amazing dogs?

[Hannah Chadwick]

Julie,
I've been doing a lot of obedience work right on the spot and it does work
but it also takes up a lot of time. Sometimes I just don't have time to do
that on the spot when I'm trying to get somewhere. It's also kind of
stressful when I have to keep yanking on her leash to get her to face me and
stop looking back at the distraction. However, this does seem to work with a
lot of tries... I'm hoping against hope that she will get better.

-----Original Message-----
From: nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf
Of Julie J.
Sent: Monday, April 23, 2012 7:19 PM
To: NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users
Subject: [nagdu] Hannah,Re: howling was RE: Amazing dogs?

Hannah,

Have you tried turning around?  I mean when she starts up acting a mess
because she's more interested in whatever, just drop the harness handle and
pivot 180 degrees so you're facing the way you just came from.  then you
could try a variety of things...double back in the direction you came from,
have her sit and down, pet her or whatever it takes to get refocused.  I
found this method very effective with Monty.  Firstly it breaks the eye
contact he was having with the dog/cat/squirrel/whatever.  When he can't
look at it  he isn't as distracted.  Lessening the distraction made it much
more possible for him to get refocus on me.  Also for him, getting closer to
what he wanted was very rewarding.  I only allowed him to get closer if he
behaved himself.

Remember I told you that three years ago he would have Tigger fits of
bouncing when he saw another dog a block away?  Today we walked past three
little dogs on tie outs bouncing, barking and generally going nutters.
These dogs were literally inches from Monty and he gave them only a glance.
If you asked me if he would ever get to this point three 
years ago, I would have probably said no.    It took a lot of work and 
even more patience, but it is possible.

HTH
Julie


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