[nagdu] dog distraction, continued

Wed Oct 21 18:43:07 UTC 2015

Hi, Tracey, when I had my second GDF dog, one of their long time trainers 
taught me this awesome method for dealing with distractions, but especially 
dog ones.  It's called Calm petting.  It works best if you can do it just as 
he's getting distracted.  This was easier for me with Katy because she was 
very obvious, panting, getting bouncy and pulling like crazy.

First, make sure you can stop without putting you guys in danger.  I know 
that for you this might be hard.  Then Make crocus do a sit/stay, and either 
face him or turn him so he's facing you.  Hold the leash  in one hand and 
then put your other on his chest just below the harness strap and gently 
massage.  It's not even a massaging movement, because you want to barely 
move your fingers in a slight circular or back and forth motion.  Make sure 
he's facing you and that you are talking quietly to him the whole time.  The 
goal here is to get him focused on you and not the distraction.  Eventually, 
you can just speak calmly to him as he gets distracted and he should at 
least be a bit calmer and might be able to work past it.

I had worked with Katy for about four years and was a pro at giving leash 
corrections and, at least for GDF dogs, a harness correction.  Katy had a 
high tolerance for both of these.  I was amazed at how fast this worked with 
Katy.  This wasn't a trainer who had worked with her in the past and knew 
her, this was just a very experienced trainer who saw her go gaga over 
another dog and it was totally spur of the moment advice.

Your mileage may vary, of course.  I just wanted to offer another technique 
besides treating and leash correcting, not that I haven't been guilty of 
using both of these before.  The Calm petting thing just looks better and 
helps increase bonding cred with your dog.  I've even used it on my newest 
dog, a Lab/Golden cross and she just melts.

Lisa and the melty Paige

 Lisa Belville
missktlab1217 at frontier.com
A bus station is where the bus stops. A train station is where the train
stops.  On my desk I have a work station...

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Tracy Carcione via nagdu" <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
To: "'NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users'" 
<nagdu at nfbnet.org>
Cc: "Tracy Carcione" <carcione at access.net>
Sent: Wednesday, October 21, 2015 10:03 AM
Subject: Re: [nagdu] dog distraction, continued

>I was thinking, when Krokus sees a dog and starts pulling, that maybe I
> should stop and have him touch my hand, then go on.  If he keeps pulling
> hard, I guess we would stop again.  Either it will bring his attention 
> back
> to me, or the other dog will get far enough away so Krokus will lose
> interest.  What do you think?
> Tracy
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nagdu [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Danielle Sykora
> via nagdu
> Sent: Wednesday, October 21, 2015 10:33 AM
> To: NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users
> Cc: Danielle Sykora
> Subject: Re: [nagdu] dog distraction, continued
>
> I took the high tail wagging as a show of dominance or maybe trying to 
> warn
> the other dog away. He doesn't hold his tail down like he's terrified, but
> it's definitely not a happy wag either. It was really the vocalizations 
> that
> lead me to the conclusion of anxiety, because Thai doesn't bark, growl, or
> whine in harness without good reason.
> I've found the touch command extremely helpful and I've gotten him to the
> point where he can sit calmly in close proximity to another dog.
> It's when we have to walk past one that I have trouble keeping his focus.
> I'm waiting to hear back from the school, so I hope they'll be able to 
> help
> me solve this problem.
>
> Danielle and Thai
>
>
> On 10/21/15, Tracy Carcione via nagdu <nagdu at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>> Catching up on email ...
>> Wagging his tail over his back doesn't sound like anxiety to me.  An
>> anxious dog tends to tuck his tail, or wag it down low.
>> Some people I know have had success using the hand-touch for dog
>> distractions.  Dog gets distracted, you stop, tell him to touch your
>> hand, click and treat.  I should try this myself, as Krokus has gotten
>> more dog-distracted.  And people-distracted, especially kids.  His
>> inner golden expressing itself.
>> Tracy
>>
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: nagdu [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Danielle
>> Sykora via nagdu
>> Sent: Saturday, October 10, 2015 10:59 AM
>> To: NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users
>> Cc: Danielle Sykora
>> Subject: [nagdu] dog distraction, continued
>>
>> Hi all,
>>
>> Some of you probably remember my previous posts concerning dog
>> distractions, but here's a quick summary for those who don't. Starting
>> some time in early spring, my dog started lunging and growling at dogs
>> while working after experiencing interfearance from off-leash dogs on
>> many occasions.
>>
>> Working with him over the spring and summer, I got him to the point
>> where he no longer lunges, barks, or growls. On the other hand, he now
>> reacts to almost all dogs where he used to only have a problem with
>> dogs that were off-leash, behind invisible fences, or tied out on long
>> lines. His natural reaction is to pull harder when he sees another
>> dog, but he also often slows down or sits since that's what I
>> previously encouraged in order to give him food rewards. Thai doesn't
>> react to all dogs all the time and he can calmly sit and watch another
>> dog walk by, but he definitely reacts to the majority of dogs while
>> trying to walk past them. Because he stares at other dogs, wags his
>> tail curled over his back, and/or whines, I think the route of the
>> problem is anxiety from his past negative experiences. Some techniques
>> I've used are food rewards in the presence of other dogs (dogs =
>> food), obedience to focus his attention on me, and calming petting
>> while interrupting his sight line to the other dog. He also wears a
>> Halti so I have better control over his head.  Thai has improved
>> significantly, but I've essentially hit a plateau in training where I
>> don't know how to proceed. I'm probably going to contact the school
>> when I have some free time after midterms, but I'm hoping some of you
>> will have suggestions for overcoming my pup's anxiety in the meantime.
>>
>> Danielle and Thai
>>
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>
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