Problem solving and testimonials
To give you an idea how I help others, here is a plan for assessing a problem. Also the feedback from two persons I have helped
SEELENFREUND KENNEL
LINWOOD SOUTH AUSTRALIA
E mail: dogs.kearney@gmail.com
Phone 0412589965
Training Program:
Owners details; Mrs Deidre NOAKES Dog details: Buffy 7 year old desexed female Maltese – Shitsu cross Date of initial obs: 13/10/2015
Summary of obs: Upon my arrival and as getting out of the car, Buffy was at the front door window, yapping loudly and pawing at the glass. She displayed high anxiety levels whilst knocking on the door and when Deidre answered. Deidre picked her up and held her close. Dog continued yo yelp and bark (high pitch) whilst there. Whale eye present when I first sat down. Would come close after a while but not settle.
Disclosed History:
Buffy was purchased from a pet shop. There is then a high chance she was bred by a back yard breeder or puppy farm. Given this, there is a high probability she was never socialised correctly which may create an initial reaction of meeting new dogs/people. Deidre and her family took the dog and have had it for 5 years. The behaviour I observed is common to all visitors according to Deidre.
The dog is described by the owners as slightly dog reactive and child reactive. It tends to pull when first on the walk, but the longer the walk goes, the calmer Buffy becomes.
Assessment
As I was getting out of my car, I could hear Buffy “yapping” and scratching at the window. Buffy appeared to be acting out of fear with a stranger approaching the house. Her eyes were fixed and staring. And when I entered the house and sat, she “whale eyed”. Once I was settled, Buffy appeared to calm down but the arousal increased again when I moved. I believe this barking/yapping is fear based and not aggression. The reason for this is if it was aggression, it would not subside as I observed over a period. This is supported with the probability of poor, if any socialisation skills during the critical time whilst a puppy as outlined in Disclosed History.
Trigger: Anxiety/fear – people at the door
Goal:
For Buffy to remain calm and relaxed when people pass the house or approach and knock on the front door.
Plan:
Buffy needs a “safe” zone. This could be a crate or dog bed and suggest this be in the same room as the visitors normally sit.. Train Buffy to go into the safe zone on a verbal cue.
“Look at me” This exercise is designed to bring Buffy's attention back to the handler. To do this exercise, have reward already in hand and use the verbal cue you want for Buffy to look at you. This could be her name or other word/sound. When Buffy looks at you, hold the reward by your eye to ensure contact is made. When Buffy does the desired behaviour, mark that behaviour instantaneously and reward. To start with I would suggest high value food rewards. Do this exercise a few times a day, every day so it becomes patterned.
When you have achieved “Safe Zone” training and “Look at me” training we will then set up to address the visitors.
Start off with “Safe Zone” exercises to get Buffy in the right mind frame.
Take Buffy to the front door and remain inside the house with her. Have a person walk in the front yard. If Buffy's anxiety raises, use “Look at me” exercise. If behaviour is acceptable -reward. When person can approach front veranda area then move on
Repeat above and if all going well, then have outside person move to door and knock on it. Remember if anxiety goes up , use “Look at me” exercise to distract. Reward all desirable behaviour during these exercises. When this exercise is achieved, move on to next
Now have person come inside but no interaction with Buffy. Handler takes Buffy to safe zone and has Buffy stay there. Reward for acceptable behaviour. Once Buffy has settled in “safe zone” the release command can be given to allow Buffy out of the safe space.
If Buffy moves to visitor, have visitor give reward to Buffy and do so from the side of the head/body. Do not allow visitors to use overhead movement to start with.
The whole family needs to be on this plan. There can only be one way for Buffy to be dealt with and all the family must do the same. To have different people doing different things will only confuse Buffy, and may in fact make matters worse.
The look at me command can also be used for going on walks. Commence the walk when the dog is calm, not in an agitated state. Use exercises the dog can do prior to the walk to bring anxiety levels down. Do not let him rush out the door. Use learn to earn system (http://drsophiayin.com/blog/entry/the-learn-to-earn-program-implementing-the-program)
The same principals apply when children are approaching. Tell the child to stop and do not let strangers just pat the dog. Interaction will raise the anxiety levels in these early times. Once Buffy is calm, allow the child to slowly approach the side of Buffy and if Buffy is calm, then give release for him to move around and allow him to approach the child.
With other dogs and children on walks, see the below link
http://drsophiayin.com/blog/entry/reactive-dog-moving-past-distractions
Important: During the period of reshaping behaviour, you may come across problems, not be achieving goals, progress not going as fast as you would like and a whole other range of issues. To help you past this and for you and your dog to achieve what is possible, you are invited to contact me either by e mail, phone or Facebook. I will be only too pleased to help you over those hurdles. However, please be patient with me. Being on shift work, I may not access your message straight away.
TRAINING TIPS
MARK THE BEHAVIOUR:
You can either purchase a “clicker” or use a set word to mark the desired behaviour. Marking the behaviour lets the dog know that he has done the correct thing and will get a reward. If using a word, I suggest a quick one syllable word. You could use good boy or gir, but studies have found this not as effective as a single word. Plus it is too general as we all are prone to say good boy/girl many times during the day, often for the dog doing nothing.
I use the word Yes. Its quick, simple and a pretty unique sound so the dog knows the behaviour is what I sought.
THE REWARD NEEDS TO BE DESIRABLE
Make sure the reward is something your dog likes. Not what you think your dog may like. High value treats may include skinless hot dog, cheese, and semi moist meet. These are the preferred treats as they are soft, easily chewed and eaten. This makes them more desirable when training a new behaviour or high anxiety/fear and you can shotgun the treats for acceptable behaviour.
Remember, in cases where there is high anxiety, high drive, high levels of fear etc, the treat you are using must be higher value than the trigger activating the behaviour you are trying to change.
CONSTANT REWARDING:
Constant rewarding increases behaviour. Reward every time when teaching your dog a new behaviour. Intermittent rewarding strengthens the behaviour once it has been learnt. Make sure intermittent rewards are just that, intermittent. Dogs are very good naturally at learning patterns.
JACKPOT
A handful of treats for exceptional behaviour is a good tool.
TRAINING SESSIONS SHOULD BE SHORT
Do not make the training sessions long and drawn out. Work on one step at a time and do not proceed until the dog can complete that step. A few minutes of training followed by a longer duration of play will help keep the dog motivated and training an enjoyment for the dog
1st Review. Saturday 31st October 2015.
Summary of observations.
There was no “yapping” or pawing at window as I approached the house. In fact, I could not see Buffy as I approached and house was quiet.
When I was at the front door, Buffy broke her placement and left the mat. Corrected by Deirdre and immediately, Buffy returned to the mat (and was rewarded)
Upon entering the house, Buffy was allowed to leave her mat where she calmly walked up to me and sniffed. Reinforcing this acceptable behaviour, I gave her the treat. (Reinforce invited guests have good consequences when approached calmly)
I went and sat on lounge. Buffy approached and sniffed again. Sat next to me and allowed pats to be given.
Buffy then laid on the carpet. Very relaxed, gentle eyes, mouth slightly opened. There were no indications of stress of increased anxiety due to my presence.
When Deirdre left the room, Buffy remained in my company and remained calm. She showed interest in me when Deirdre first left, but the ignored me
Ryan and Sam arrived (daughter and boyfriend) Buffy barked in a lower tone and ran to the door. Her arousal increased but was short lived. She went onto her mat when told to by Deirdre and calmed back down to a relaxed state very quickly.
Deirdre stated that when Buffy sees children or people passing by, she now rattles a container with treats which breaks Buffy's concentration and gets her focusing on Deirdre.
Future Strategies
Continue with “Look at me” exercises to keep improving the connection between you and Buffy
Continue with practicing the safety zone training and reinforcement to firmly establish new behavior
Continue with the outlined plan mentioned in the initial assessment. This should be applied to all visitors, whether family or strangers to reinforce the acceptable behavior and define boundaries for Buffy
Summary:
It is obvious that Deirdre and her family have been working with Buffy on the plan supplied. In 2.5 weeks, there was significant changes with Buffy as outlined above. She has become in a very short time a much more relaxed dog with visitors. Well done Deirdre and family, and well done Buffy. Keep up the good work.
Future reviews:
I believe that no future reviews are needed for this issue. Having said that, if you feel progress is sliding backwards or new issues arise, please do not hesitate to contact me for future assistance.
REFERENCES
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CLIENTS FEEDBACK
Paul Kearney Training: Feedback
I met with Paul for a coffee to discuss Storm’s training issues and needs and immediately felt comfortable with his approach and manner. I had a negative experience at the training I attended when Storm was a pup and had felt as though I was a bad owner. After speaking with Paul for only a short time I felt that although the issue was that I had not set boundaries with Storm it was a training issue rather than a defect on my part and importantly, could be fixed. An aspect of the initial chat that I felt was really enlightening was Paul’s explanation of how dogs see the world rather than pushing the theory that the owner has to be aggressively dominant.
I was exceptionally pleased with the session in the park. I admit that although Storm’s issues are not major I felt overwhelmed at the thought of training him to overcome them because I just did not know how. Paul broke the session down into manageable tasks. For example training Storm to walk properly without pulling on the leash, sit on command all the time and to look at me.
Paul provided a written assessment and some set tasks to perfect as well as some resources and these were extremely helpfull. In summary, I was extremely nervous about training Storm because of my negative experience but Paul has shown that it is possible and my confidence has greatly increased-even after just one session.
22/10/15
