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

[Julie J.]

Hannah,

You might try shortening up on the leash, grab it closer to the collar 
and pull firmly and steadily away until her head is facing away from the 
distraction.  this is easier to do with a head collar, but can also be 
done with the regular training collar. Once you have her eyeballs  
pointed in a neutral direction it will be much easier to proceed with 
the obedience, refocus, calm petting or whatever you use.  When a dog is 
so distracted by another dog or food or juggling clowns so that they 
aren't responding to anything you are doing, you aren't getting 
through.  I mean quite literally their brains have shut you off because 
all their neurons are focused into this other thing.  Ever get into a 
really good movie and totally miss someone saying your name?  It's sort 
of like that.  If the person came over, shut the TV off and said your 
name I bet you wouldn't miss it.  That's essentially what turning the 
dog's head  so they can't see the distraction accomplishes.

I hope you find something that works for you,
Julie








On 4/24/2012 3:22 PM, Hannah Chadwick wrote:
> 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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