[NAGDU] Any suggestions on how I would word a letter.

[Tami Jarvis]

Jordan,

Detail! Specific examples would be good, with as much detail as you can 
add, starting before the behavior started. Include what your dog did and 
when, but also what you did and when. If you're able to get any 
information about the other dog and what it was doing, that would also 
be good. If a butterfly flapped it's wings in China, include that. 
Really, anything to help identify a specific trigger would be good. It 
would also be good if you can find the dog's tell -- the indicator that 
he's about to switch into distracto mode. I get nowhere in distraction 
training until I can detect that crucial instant and get ahead of the 
game by giving the redirect command. Sometimes it helps to figure out 
the trigger, as well as what the response to the trigger tells me about 
my dog. If it's fear-based, then the solution would be different than if 
it's a desire to play and so on. As I recall, Loki just wanted to bounce 
up and down, shouting "dog! dog! dog!" at the top of his lungs. Windows 
a mile away would shatter. We went through a period where that was his 
response to just about everything, so I was glad we got through that 
before I had to leave town from sheer embarrassment.

What else? I always think a factual approach is best, but others give 
their feelings about it all. Probably which approach is most effective 
depends on the trainer. With guide dogs -- mine, at least -- sometimes 
my emotions at the time are totally relevant, if not key. When I'm 
examining my own after-action reports to myself and not finding anything 
useful, then going back and including my feelings at the time can clear 
things right up. "Lost my zen" turns out to be the root of many evils. 
When we were working on dog distractions, my zen issues weren't the 
cause, but holding onto it by my fingernails kept me from making the 
problem worse. Adding excitement to excitement is not the way to quiet 
things down. /lol/

Anyway, if you want to lay out a draft for comment, you might get more 
specific suggestions. Plus, sometimes just writing a draft then looking 
it over can help you see things more clearly. I was going to blog my 
training notes, but just reading them over to find the typos gave me so 
much to think of to aid my training efforts, I never cleaned them up. 
Also, puppies are exhausting. /lol/

Good luck. Glad things are turning around for both of you.

Tami

On 07/14/2017 08:47 AM, Jordan Gallacher via NAGDU wrote:
> I am wondering if anyone on here can suggest how I should word a letter to
> Leader about Belto's serious behavior issues around pet dogs.  I am
> brainstorming as I write this to figure out how to word the letter.
> 
> Thanks,
> 
> Jordan
> 
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