[nagdu] Doggie spazziness/unfocus?

Wed Feb 18 04:33:21 UTC 2015

Danielle and Raven,

Thanks, ladies! This is crazily helpful.  I guess I am on the right track in general because I do much of this when we are distracted by other things (babies in strollers, other dogs), but we seem to have this power struggle when she is pulling this hard.

I think Jenn might respond to a calm voice, or perhaps even a bored one ("Gee, really?")  My first reaction was to firmly tell her to "pace," which she did for about ten feet and then started pulling; I got frustrated after about the third time, esp when she just kept on pulling and wouldn't listen to directions.  I don't tell her to sit in the winters here, because the sidewalks are always covered in snow, ice and/or slush; if she is standing calmly at a curb or bus stop, I could care less if she is sitting.  I did use the "touch" command, but got no results.  And as for the Halti? Yeeeeeah... it normally has a place in my purse, and I didn't bring the purse last night... foolish me!

Back to all the lessons I learned a year ago: if she thinks this is a power struggle, then she will treat it like one.  Take all the power she thinks her spaz will give her, it will go away.

Daryl

----- Original Message -----
From: Danielle Sykora via nagdu <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
To: NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Tue, 17 Feb 2015 19:59:44 -0700 (MST)
Subject: Re: [nagdu] Doggie spazziness/unfocus?

This is something I can relate to since I have a somewhat impulsive
dog with a ridiculous amount of energy. There are basically two
strategies I have found that work with my dog when he gets overly
excited.
1. Ignore the behavior. I stand in one place, holding the leash, and
essentially pretend my dog doesn't exist. I don't acknowledge him
until he calms down. I find this is most effective out of harness
since he generally doesn't get quite that excited while working.
Sometimes I will modify this by holding his collar if there isn't a
lot of space.
2. I will give my dog a simple task such as "sit" and pet him calmly
under the chin, making small circles with my hand and keeping in
constant contact with his fur. This is something I learned in training
and it really seems to calm and refocus my dog. I usually use this
more when he is working. Ideally, I can get him to turn away from
whatever is distracting/exciting him while I am calming him down;
however, I sometimes will just stand between him and the distraction.

Danielle and Thai

On 2/17/15, Raven Tolliver via nagdu <nagdu at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> Daryl,
> All of our dogs have moments of weakness, and so do we. Sometimes, our
> dogs act in ways that are totally out of left field, and our reactions
> are not always the most helpful. We have all been there.
> Here are some options for future instances of this particular
> behavior, or something similar where Jenny just seems to be
> overexcited.
> 1. Stay chill. This might seem like common sense, but sometimes, we
> react in a knee-jerk way, rather than in a calm, collected manner.
> What was your first reaction when Jenny got so out of control? Were
> you frustrated? Fretting? Yelling, or even speaking in a frustrated,
> higher pitched voice? Did you address her in a firm voice?
> Obviously, the tone that works with each dog is different. But
> sometimes, it benefits just to have a very relaxed tone of voice. No
> frustration, no excitement, no firmness, just calm.
> 2. Cue her to do something she knows. What different things did you
> try to get her to do? Did you ask her to sit? Use the touch command?
> Asking her to perform a command she is familiar with can remind her to
> behave herself and focus on you.
> 3. Stand your ground. Literally, you just stand there, holding the
> leash, and allow the dog to go nuts and calm down on their own, or
> with calming words/signals from you. I did this too many times to
> count at the animal shelter. This is called negative punishment, where
> you don't react to a dog's nonsense at all. Turn your back on the dog,
> and let them realize that they are not getting anything positive out
> of going berserk. Negative punishment can be used to train a number of
> behaviors, but it seems like it might be a plausible option in your
> particular circumstance. Reacting to a dog's nonsense can encourage
> them and get them more excited, so instead, ignore it and wait for it
> to stop, or give conservative calming signals. Whatever happens, be
> sure to give a reward, physical or verbal praise, or a couple treats
> when she gets herself together.
> And never leave home without your Halti! I've been with the Golden Guy
> for nearly three years, and in some situations with dog distractions,
> it still comes in handy.
> --
> Raven
> You are valuable because of your potential, not because of what you
> have or what you do.
>
> Naturally-reared guide dogs
> https://groups.google.com/d/forum/nrguidedogs
>
> On 2/17/15, Daryl Marie via nagdu <nagdu at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>> Hello!
>>
>> Just looking for input.
>>
>> I take Jenny to an off-leash park regularly.  We have very few problems
>> walking there, but when my husband and I drive there with her, she gets
>> so
>> excited.  She starts happily whining when we're pulling in to the parking
>> lot, and we have had some success working with her on not pulling when we
>> get out of the car.
>>
>> Last night, we went to visit my mother-in-law at a house she moved into a
>> couple of months ago.  We have never taken Jenny there before, and last
>> night she just completely lost her head - pulling, whining, not
>> listening,
>> even in harness.  The first thing out of my husband's mouth when we got
>> out
>> of the car was "She thinks we're at the park," accented by dogs barking
>> from
>> yards in every direction.  I will admit I lost my head, too, and got
>> frustrated with my chowder-headed dog.  It got to the point that nearly
>> wrestling her to the ground didn't even seem to get her focused.  What
>> really sucks is that leaving the house, I thought I should bring her
>> Halti,
>> and decided not to... a decision I regretted upon exiting the car.
>>
>> In the end, she calmed down once we got inside, she sniffed my
>> Mother-in-law's Yorkie, stole a bone, and laid down calmly for two hours;
>> getting back to the car was much better.
>>
>> Any advice on dealing with this?  I admit I need to roll with this
>> better,
>> but Jenn needs to know that this behavior is not acceptable, PERIOD!
>>
>> Daryl and the normally well-behaved Jenny
>>
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>
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