Adrienne Farricelli

Glad to hear things have been going better giardia-wise. I can imagine how stressful and time-consuming it can be, just listening to all the stuff my neighbor had to do made me feel exhausted as I was imaging them in my head. So many diseases and conditions seem to be linked to sugars and carbs. Even I have started a low-carb diet! There is also a lot of research going on showing how the immune system is for a good part in our gut and the importance of having healthy gut microbiomes. I hope you'll be able to enjoy your holidays without worries!

Hi there! Welcome to the forums! Jennifer has provided you with several helpful links (thank you Jennifer for posting those and several handy "intake questions!") I will be adding a few extra links that you may find helpful based on the info provided: A case study on jumping: . Session 1: Assessing the Jumping Behavior & Desensitization . Session 2: Teaching Maggie Calmer Greetings Pulling on lead: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/pulling-on-the-leash/ Troubleshooting why dogs ignore: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/ignoring-commands/ Ignoring is a typical sign of the adolescent stage. Perhaps, your Labrador will look at you with a blank stare when you ask him to perform a well-trained behavior, or worse, he just blows you off, ignoring you as if your cues were just background noise like the birds chirping on the trees. Moments of regression are rather normal during this stage. Just make sure to keep training your Labrador in areas with little distractions and then gradually increase distractions. Praise and reward every little sign of cooperation. Avoid scolding your pup or getting frustrated, this will only put a dent in your training causing him to dread being trained, when instead, he should look forward to it. Here is more about the adolescent stage, in Labradors it typically lasts until the dog is 2 years old to 2 and 1/2: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/survive-dogs-adolescent-stage/ Skittish behaviors are sometimes sign of a fear period. Right in the midst of the adolescent stage, there is also a second fear period (the first one took place between 8 and 11 weeks), generally taking place between the age of 6 to 14 months. This is a time when your Labrador may suddenly begin to be suspicious of things. For instance, he may bark at the mailman or a man wearing a hat. He may become startled upon seeing a flag moving with the wind or a large tree in the dark. During this time, any frightening experience will make an even bigger impression on your dog. You should continue to socialize and train your dog during this period, however, you should be extra cautious to never put your Lab into overwhelming situations. The best way to deal with these frightening moments is to treat them with patience. Do not force your dog to face his fear, or scold him if he acts out in an inappropriate manner. More about fear stages: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/fear-periods-8-10-weeks-6-14-months/ Here are exercises to increase confidence: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/exercises-build-confidence-insecure-dogs/ All in all, the adolescent period is moment of challenges, but it's also true that it's a transitory stage. You'll eventually see the light at the end of the tunnel. When you feel defeated, simply think about your Labrador as a human teenager. He just needs your gentle guidance and consistency in his life. Be patient. Keep holding refresher training sessions. Keep on working on better impulse control. Here are some great exercises: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/impulse-control-frustration-tolerance/ And don't forget about keeping that brain busy! Provide brain games, food puzzles, safe chew toys, start clicker training, enroll him in a canine sport and take him on sniffing adventures. However, don't forget to teach him how to chill too. Training your Labrador to lie on a mat can turn helpful; https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/video-archive/train-dog-go-to-mat/ The more you keep that big Labrador brain busy in positive ways, the greater the chances you'll help your developing pup grow into a wonderful adult companion. Happy training!

I was waiting to see how the last two weeks went before updating. We chatted with the daycare, and the owner said based on the video review it appeared that Bailey may have issues with male dogs, although he noted it might also be the intensity of play coupled with "too many" dogs (overstimulation leading to overwhelm). The facility is separated into multiple areas. The main outdoor area is very large and houses most of the bigger, younger male dogs and the play in that area can get very exuberant. The main area also has a large number of dogs. Recordings in these cases can provide helpful details as such. Stress or too much stimulation is one big cause for dog fights to erupt and in day cares is an issue considering that during the day dogs may not get sufficient breaks for rest and sleep. Videos of the dog's behavior before the fight can also provide clues as to whether he may have gotten too overstimulated or stressed. The owner kept him under close supervision the last two weeks and placed him in the side where there are far fewer dogs. The dogs on the "other side" are where the smaller and gentler dogs are placed and that can include older puppies and some older dogs. That side also has more females than males. Apparently, Bailey gravitates to the females dogs and there has no issues since placing him in this area. Today, he played with a female adolescent German Shepherd (very exuberantly, as she is a bouncy and energetic girl) with no issues. Last week, it was an older female Golden Retriever, and again no issues. I am glad that some steps were taken to reduce the chances for further incidents. Female-male combinations often work out, since in general male dogs are more forgiving and accepting of certain behaviors from female dogs. Interestingly, when I think about his encounters at the dog park, any issues (growling and piloerection) has always been directed at males that are not fixed. He played with them fine until they tried mounting him, which is when he took exception. In intact males the levels of testosterone starts to rise just prior to puberty, around the ages of 4 to 6 months old, and then reaches a surge once they reach puberty, generally between 6 and 12 months. Afterwards, testosterone levels maintain a state of little or no change up to five years old and then those levels start gradually declining when the dog becomes senior. In intact males, testosterone provides a certain “maleness” smell, which, coupled with certain behaviors, may cause neutered dogs to act defensively. We therefore have some anecdotal evidence that when an intact male dog enters a dog park there is tension in the air and they are often attacked by neutered dogs.

Yay! Atari is in a nice responsive state despite the cats being super close and the cats are eating and look comfortable too! When her neck landed on kitty's tail and kitty turned around to check things, there was this second or two of eye contact between the two, but Atari softened up and redirected nicely and kitty was like ''Ok my tail is still intact, all is well, back to eating"! Keep up the great work!

Not only for playing specifically, but also walking in general. I still will let him free at some point, but in areas I really have full sight. If I see coming from far enough, I can get him to come to me and tie him. That will also means, it would be less longer. I'm not sure about playing in those areas... We never have trouble in those cases, but I'm pretty sure we were just lucky, because sometimes he went very far and very long with the buddy with whom he was playing. So if he was for the most free and now you have him on a long line, but want him to enjoy the freedom as close as possible as if he was off leash, you can try to be the least intrusive by walking at a faster pace and letting him stay ahead where there's no tension on the line. I find that once you find that perfect pace that is synchronized so that the line is not tense you have found a nice compromise. Of course, do some sessions on a regular leash every now and then, for maintenance purposes and to remind him of training walks versus leisurely walks. We still go to dog school once a week though, where he can see and be around lots of dogs. He showed improvement there, but is still eager to go to them. Thing is, they are not always allowed to play off leash, for security reasons. As there are differences of sizes and tempers, the instructor is more on the safe side (which is a good thing) and allow it only if he's sure there won't be any slipping (for example, two of them are like worst enemies, and cannot do any exercise implying the owner drop the leash without going to each others throats). That's a good environment to introduce some impulse control training and exercises such as walking nicely on a loose leash to the play area, doing attention heeling around other dogs and attending to your cues. One of my favorite exercises when training service is dogs is having several dogs sitting lined up with spaces in between them and taking turns having the dog walk through them in a zig-zag fashion, like we do with the serpentine, only that there are dogs in place of the cones: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/graduation/serpentines-and-spirals/ It's weird... because there are so many dogs, and dogs passing in our neighborhood, that I would expect him to be used to other dogs presence. We see less dogs when going to the city, than when we walk around the house. I hear you. This make total sense. Is there any specific way to train that ? We usually try to do a "sit and stay" with some "look at me" with high reward treats. We also try crossing each but he's often lunging, which is more difficult to control than "sit and stay" When I mean in the city, I look for a sort of constant flow of people and dogs sort of like in some farmer's markets or like in New York City where there are dog walkers going back and forth. The problem is when there are dogs sort of every now and then which creates more contrast between no dog and then a dog. With the constant flow, the dog's senses sort of "tire" and the extra excitement wanes. What I am looking for is some structured exposures, where other dogs ignore other dogs and just keep going their ways without the pressure of meeting. You will need to practice in structured settings, working on distance first where he is better under control. Learn his "bubble." In many dogs the "gotto go meet or say hi!" and its associated excitement (whining, pulling) is often prompted when they get to a certain closeness and at this closeness they are way too over threshold for us to get them into a responsive state. So start with the distance he's more comfortable with and under threshold. I have found that sit and stays are more difficult for excited dogs to attend to and do better with some more "dynamic" exercises such as attention heeling with the treat at eye level and the dog looking up at us and then rewarding with the treats tossed to the ground for the dog to chase. wooow ! I expected it to be long but not this long ! 🙂 Da*n those "trainers" with videos like "Get a perfect recall in minutes !!" They'll do anything to get views! Same with "potty train your dog in a week!" no, not gonna happen-unless the breeders already got them started and did most of the work. Well, now that I think of it, maybe yes, you can train an almost perfect recall in a short time----that is, if you keep practicing in a zero stimulus hallway where nothing is going on and you have super tasty treats! Of course, the 3 years is general, for those who are very dedicated, doing everything right, the ideal settings and with biddable dog breeds, they can obtain stellar results earlier. But even police dogs and service dogs, you can't really get them seriously trained to advanced levels until they are mature enough to concentrate and have gained the necessary impulse control, so they are generally introduced to more serious training once they are over one year with most them being ready anywhere between 18 months and 3 years. on a related subject, we were considering neuteuring him. Not because of this specific incident, but with him showing signs of dominance, and always trying to mount when playing, our instructor mentioned it can be hormones driven sometimes. Like, hormones are working, it gets him all excited, and gets him over threshold, and having those kind of rough play... So for now, we're still waiting how it goes, given he's full teenager mode. If it pass we will let him like this, if not we might actually doing it. What do you think about it ? There is no easy answer to this. Mounting during play can be due to high arousal levels, over stimulation, stress, anxiety, herding instincts (wanting to control the movement of other dogs), medical issues or just being a 'bully." So there are no guarantees that the mounting will stop once neutered. Neutering is no longer considered a "cure all' like it was in the past. I think this is something you should discuss with your vet, or even better, several vets (and do your own research as well) so you can gather several opinions/views along with factual information before making a decision, because if you are doing the surgical "snip-snip" procedure, there is then no going back. It's irreversible. I will provide you some basics from research I have gathered. Behavior-wise, several studies that were published between the 1970s and 1990s suggested that neutering helped in reducing urine marking, roaming, and mounting most likely due to the reduction in testosterone levels. Statically, we are talking improvements of around 50 percent. A more recent study conducted in 2021 confirmed the above findings when it came to mounting behavior, showing a significant reduction in nine months after neutering. However, note that these studies do not provide much details on what types of mounting they addressed. If Loki is mounting from non-hormonal reasons such as overstimulation, or herding instincts, neutering may not help as desired, whereas management will. To further complicate things, there are also some studies providing some contradictory findings on neutering leading to certain unexpected behavioral changes such as increased aggression, fearfulness, excitability, anxiety, and decreased trainability. Anectodical evidence also shows us that intact male dogs upon entering a dog park (or other settings with groups of dogs) tend to be attacked by neutered male dogs. Health-wise, studies have revealed that when dogs are not neutered, they become more predisposed to benign prostatic hyperplasia (an enlarged prostate), perineal hernias and adenomas, prostatitis, and testicular neoplasia. Whereas, neutering has been linked to an increased risk of prostate cancer and diabetes mellitus along with a possible increase in joint disorders. In general, if we know with certainty that the behavior is hormonally-driven there are chances that neutering will reduce that. However, there are no certainties, considering how the mounting behavior may be carried out for various reasons, and to add insult to injury, there are countless of spayed female dogs and neutered male dogs who still mount! So this is a delicate situation. If you are on the fence with neutering another option is looking into hormonal neutering with an implant, which is reversible and this can *maybe* allow you to see whether neutering would make a change in the behavior. Of course, discuss this with a veterinarian or even better, veterinary behaviorist if feasible, so to see what are the options and do research. If you would like to dig deeper, I can link you some of the studies on neutering I have found.

If you will be using a long line on walks (make sure it's attached to a harness) that provides a nice compromise so to allow a little more freedom, but without risking him getting into unexpected trouble (although a shorter leash is safer as you can more readily control your dog). Are you therefore asking whether Loki may suffer from not being allowed to play off leash with other dogs since you're planning on keeping him on the long line from now on? Do you have access to any fenced areas you can take him to play with his buddies? Training a super reliable recall to the point of stopping him in his tracks despite seeing other dogs takes lots of practice. I have personally seen the biggest improvements by leash walking around lots of dogs such as by the perimeters of dog parks or in cities, doggy sport events or taking dogs to group obedience classes. It's more difficult for dogs who live in rural areas where they have a strong response to seeing other dogs. Dog trainer Jean Donaldson calls it "suburban dog syndrome." When your dog doesn't pull anymore on leash to meet other dogs, even if they are close, you know you have better control and more chances for him to come when called., versus a dog who pulls and loses it from all the excitement. Yet, that's just a step ahead. You'll need lots of exposure to different types of dogs and the ability to ignore them no matter what they do (bark, jump, run). Many dog trainers say that it can take up to a good 3 years for a solid recall response to the point of recalling in face of distractions such as cats, squirrels and dogs. I think this makes sense if the training starts from puppyhood since this coincides with the age dogs reach social maturity which is when they are more mature and get a little more aloof towards other dogs.

Ops, just noticed that you have posted an earlier reply. Will take a look and respond shortly.

OK, so basically, dogs (unless trained) have a natural opposition reflex and will instinctively pull back away from external pressure. This explains why your pup will pull away and buck when she feels leash pressure. If your puppy has never worn a collar before, it may be worthy investing in a very light collar. When fostering young puppies, I like to start them with the colored collars breeders often use. You want to skip any ID tags for now as they add extra weight and it may further scare the puppy. If you are worried about your puppy escaping, consider getting her microchipped and/or using collars that can have your contact info engraved onto the collar. As for leashes, go with the lightest so it doesn't cause too much drag if you want your pup to drag it around the first days. Also, you want to skip retractable leashes as these really teach dogs to pull. Here are some exercises that may help, some I have already mentioned, but I am repeating them so that you can see how criteria is raised step-by-step and there are also some additional sub-steps if you still are encountering issues. Exercise 1) Training to "Give in" to The Pressure Arm yourself with tasty treats and sit on the couch with your puppy wearing the collar. Snap on the leash (give a treat when you snap it on) and keep it loose and watch your puppy carefully. The moment she moves away, gently put a little bit of pressure on the leash and show her a tasty treat so that she learns to "give in" to the pressure. Praise and reward the moment she walks in the direction to release the pressure. Rinse and repeat several times, until you get what is known as a positive conditioned emotional response. You need to proceed very gradually, increasing criteria only once your pup seems comfortable with the previous step. So start with very gentle pressure and reward for giving in to the pressure (walking towards the direction to loosen the leash. With time, she should learn to respond to the slightest pressure. Exercise 2) Walking Around the Home Once you have obtained a lovely positive conditioned emotional response, you can then let the the tugs happen organically, in other words, walk around with your puppy on leash and if she lags or pulls ahead, you you can gently guide her on what to do to loosen the leash. If you like to use clicker training, you can even click and reward anytime your puppy gives in to the pressure and walks towards you catching up. If possible, try your best to always reward your puppy in the "reward zone" which is next to you. Remember to keep a positive attitude! You want to communicate to your puppy that being on leash is great and that she can easily get rid of any pressure by "giving in" to it rather than resisting it. Exercise 3) Walking Around the Yard Things may get a little more challenging once your puppy is in the yard due to all the enticing sights and smells. You may therefore want to move to this environment more gradually (more about this in the sub-steps). Sub-Steps for Difficult Cases In some cases, you may need to split exercises into smaller steps. For instance, if your pup struggles with step 3 (walking in the yard), you can try sitting outside and do more reps of exercise 1, before actually allowing your puppy to walk around the yard and explore. Once you get a positive conditioned emotional response in the yard, you can then proceed to walk some steps and see how it goes. Your puppy may even benefit from some focusing exercises, where your puppy basically learns to focus more on you rather than thinking about the leash pressure or rushing towards other tantalizing things in the yard. -Teach Sticking Nearby You It may also benefit puppies to start implementing the concept of walking besides you even before you add the collar and leash. I call this the "invisible leash" exercise. Basically, you'll arm yourself with tasty treats, make your smacking sound and keep one treat at eye level. Praise and reward your puppy for walking next you and looking in your eyes. This helps your puppy learn that sticking by your side is extra rewarding and to avoid leash pressure. -Step-by-Step Treat Drop Game Another exercise is to simply attach the leash to your belt or loop it around your waist by inserting the leash through the handle, and practicing walking around the home one step at a time. Basically, start with you standing with your pup next to you and take a step forward and drop a treat. After your pup eats that treat, take another step forward, drop the treat and rinse and repeat until your pup gets a hang of it. Afterward, you can progress to dropping a treat every two steps, then every 3 steps and then you can mix things up by giving a treat every 1 step, then every 4th step, then every 2nd step etc. What to Do if Your Puppy Starts Bucking If no matter all of the precautions, your puppy manages to buck, stay calm and be very quick to divert her attention. You can use a squeaky toy and see if that helps her snap out of the fear and move towards you or you can make a smacking sound with your mouth in hopes of her rushing to you for a treat. Lowering yourself to the ground and making silly noises can help you make yourself more approachable and attractive. If your puppy bucks because she likes to run around on leash or gets the zoomies, try to drain her energy prior to taking her out and work on the focus exercises. Here are some tips: -Do brain games -Play hide and seek (since she's very young for a long sit-stay or down-stay, have a family member hold her while you hide) https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/university/hide-and-seek/ -Treasure hunts Here are some games/exercises for clingy puppies: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/exercises-to-prevent-separation-anxiety-in-puppies/

she was doing a lot of chewing herself the kid they do when they have fleas but she doesnt have any fleas (thing puppy mama made sure to treat any fleas and to worm them before they left home) I'm guessing that might have been stress then? being spereated from your mom and siblings must be pretty stressful alone I guess As a first step, in general, we want to make sure there isn't an underlying medical issue at play before assuming something behavioral, just to give dogs the benefit of doubt. If she is doing a lot of chewing, it can be many things other than stress such as having a little cut, a splinter, allergies to something-especially if the paws are chewed the most (like walking on surfaces treated with cleaning supplies, fabric softeners, walking over certain grasses). If it's paw chewing localized to a certain area it may be worthy checking the area for swelling and redness. Fleas are tricky because depending on the products used, they may not all be killed at once and some fleas may have survived in bedding hatching eggs and starting the infestation all over and even one flea can cause crazy itching if the dog is allergic to their saliva. So if this chewing persists, it may be worthy a trip to the vet or mentioning it at the next vaccine appointment just to make sure it'd not medically-driven. Sure, dogs may lick/chew in response to stress, and some dogs may do that to soothe themselves before falling asleep. Once medical issues are ruled out, it may help to provide something safe to chew or lick (like a Licki mat) when crated. My last dog that was a lurcher was trained off the lead and collar completely she never ever wore one I had her from puppy till 11 years old, I have friends with lurchers also that dont wear leads and are completely fine off the lead, my concerns about her trying to escape are just because she is so young and untrained as yet. That's great! Kudos to you for being able to train her to that level of reliability! I am basing this info on what rescue adoption agencies warn when adoptees adopt lurchers. Being a cross between sighthounds and some herding type of dog or terrier the sighthounds' history for hare coursing may prevail, but it's also true that being a cross, we may deal with a mixed bag of genes, so there may be chances the chasing after prey and not reliably coming when called when concentrated on chasing may not always carry over in some specimens. I can understand your concerns about her escaping since she's still a puppy and untrained. ah the tugs I was referring to were just me handling her collar with my hand not the leash Ah, OK collar grabs! There is a section in the recall article that covers how to make those less scary to dogs. https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/obedience-101/recall/ You can then let the the tugs happen organically, in other words, walk around with her on leash and if she lags or pulls ahead, you you can gently guide her on what to do to loosen the leash, always rewarding her in the 'reward zone.' What is the reward zone? The reward zone is the area nearby you when you are in heel position. The height of the reward zone will vary based on the dog's age and size, but in general it should be next to your knee in a large breed dog. Picture of the "reward zone" You can read more about the reward zone here; https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/obedience-101/heeling-attention-heeling/ On the subject of the leash training, it has been very hard to do it in the house since we last spoke and what is particularly challenging for me and her is that even taking her outside on a short leash not long line she still wants to run around and sometimes 'zoom' and that makes her create pressure on the leash and buck, I'm really worried about this creating negative associations with her, she seems to be over threshold very easily when I take her outside So as mentioned, I would skip the long line for now and stick to the leash. With a long line, we firstly need to make safety our top priority, and with a young pup as such, full or energy, we may want to use it only once she's better under control without the risk of her getting a leg caught in a loop and we want it attached to a harness rather than a collar. With the leash training, this takes some time to master and the main problem in your situation is that, without a fence and with a young puppy, you have this extra pressure to take her out on leash to potty every time, and on top of that, she gets the zoomies once out, which is rather normal in as breed who loves to run and needs to stretch their legs, so we may need to take take a multi-faceted approach consisting of the following: -Finding ways to drain energy and prevent the zoomies -Finding ways to keep her focused on you -Training to get her used to the collar and leash as much as possible hoping that it gradually generalizes to the yard. I will be covering several of these more in depth shortly.

Hi there, welcome back! Sorry to hear about the mishap, I am not too fond of having dogs off leash unless they have proved themselves through time that they have a stellar recall. See my thoughts on this here: It's an unfortunate circumstance yours though since you normally ask and there are not many people in the area and this person popped up with not one but 3 dogs, and had to fall on top of that! To answer your questions: do they feel the difference between a long enough leash, and no leash at all ? I guess so, because of the dragging of the leash... but do that change the behavior ? would they be more responsive on long leash because they would know they're no totally free ? Until dogs can talk we can just make some assumptions. For sure, they feel it dragging and the pressure it exerts when they reach the end, but there may be good chances they temporary forget about it when they're having fun, sniffing or are focused on something. - can they have "negative / bad feelings" by being always on leash when going on walks, even a long one given them virtually the same level of freedom. If you are using a long line, the only negative feeling that comes to mind is perhaps some frustration if they can't reach what they would like to reach. It may be more difficult for dogs who have always been off leash to be suddenly on a short leash, but in those cases, we can take some steps to make things more positive for them like praising rewarding them often, letting them sniff, playing games and treasure hunts. - should we keep some off leash moment in more secure environment ? because training off leash is not the same as training with leash Yes, if you can find places where you keep Loki off leash that are safely fenced, that's a great opportunity to practice recalls. - is it too harsh to never allow off leash walks ? could he suffer from it ? A dog may suffer temporary if they always were off leash and suddenly we have them on a short leash, but we can make it extra rewarding and most dogs adjust after some time. There are many dogs who are always leashed such as dogs living in the city. If you provide them with opportunities to sniff, and organize training, play and brain games at home, they should do fine.

Oh, dear...I am so sorry. I am reading through and feeling your pain and can't stop thinking how unfortunate the timing of all these events. On the positive side, I am glad it didn't turn out being DVT. There has been an increase of dog-to-dog aggression cases (along with the infamous big surge of separation anxiety) with the recent pandemic and people adopting more dogs and adding them to the household. On top of that, less socializing (or socialization of the wrong type) having a snowball effect. A veterinary behaviorist has reported in a forum last month that female -to- female fighting is still ranking number one and topping her workload. So there you are with recovering from the flu, with a torn calf, 4 weeks of recovery, medications that make you sleepy, on a no exercise regimen, Esther coming back home, Monkey being sick and wanting to be taken repeatedly out, then being behind work -life is not fair! One positive though, you have a very supportive husband! That's interesting that they said no issues with the TV when she was boarded. I am not totally surprised though. Sometimes, behaviors don't transfer over in a different setting. That's one flaw of board and training (and one advantage of having trainers come to the home so they can observe the behavior). I am covering some possible reasons this may happen: -It could be the honeymoon effect. We see this happening the first few days, weeks and even months, where dogs are on their best behaviors, but then later they fall back into exhibiting them. Next one may say "but won't the honeymoon effect happen at my home?" Not likely, since you are battling a place with a strong reinforcement history. -It could be the trainers were providing oodles of exercise and mental stimulation. This may not always replicable in a busy household. -It could be there were other more engaging activities that made the TV less salient. It could be they had other dogs she likely was very eager to interact with and play with them or other animals on the farm, and the TV was too boring in comparison. Side note-I am of the belief that board and training works best when we can mimic the dog's original household setting and add things that dog owners can then rather easily replicate at home. If we allow them too much space, too much interactions or levels of exercise that owners cannot replicate, once home, the contrast can affect them negatively and the dogs are likely to revert to their usual behaviors. -Now, that treadmill training can come handy if you're unable to walk her. -It could be the trainers were very thorough and micro-managed her. In other words, as soon as they noticed the slightest sign of her intent to do something undesirable, they swiftly intervened. After some time, this can have a suppressive effect, with the dog giving up in doing certain things or even trying certain things. -It could be they had a smaller TV or there were too many other things going on for it to grasp her attention. Maybe they watched it in the evening when she was tired. -It could be there was no need for attention. If the reaction to the TV is attention-driven and she was entertained enough for most of the day, she may have felt fulfilled enough to not need it. As the saying goes, (this is an Italian saying so translating it) extreme maladies may need extreme remedies so at this point, maybe it's time to go to more significant interventions. Here are some ideas (pass them to trainers so to make sure you're all on the same page). -Replicating what the trainers were doing (I would ask them all the nitty gritty details, tv model, size, resolution, frequency of being turned on, did she ever show any minimal signs of it and it was extinguished right there?) -Placing the TV behind a indoor doggy gate or inside an exercise pen so she can't get that close (this may lead to barrier frustration so careful with this). -Try using a smaller TV -Try using a TV that is hung high to the wall -Timing TV time with her rest time and letting her rest in a separate area or in a crate (with a stuffed Kong) -Taking smaller steps (see below) Ideas to reduce reactions to visuals: Dimming the TV. Most TV sets have an option of dimming the TV so that images are darker and less intense. Every model will have their own instructions to follow. Adding distance. Keeping your dog at a distance from the TV can help keep him under threshold. You may have to place your dog behind a baby gate or use a tall pet gate that she can't jump over. Placing some fabric. Taping a piece of fabric over the screen can reduce the saliency of the images. One may use different fabrics gradually moving to more and more transparent ones. Using a Calming Cap: a calming cap like the Thunder Cap can block a dog's visuals so to reduce reactivity and help keep the dog under threshold. Strategies To Reduce Reactions to Sounds: Lowering the volume. Simply reducing the volume of the triggering sound can help better keep a dog under threshold. Adding distance. If your dog is in a separated area at a distance from the TV this can help keep him under threshold. You may have to place your dog behind a baby gate or use a tall pet gate that she can't jump over. Adding some white noise. A fan running while you watch TV can help buffer a bit the noises. Using noise-cancelling devices. There are several products meant to make noises less salient to dogs such as the Happy Hoodie or Noise Cancelling Head Phones for Dogs. Here is an example of a case I worked on not too long ago: Roxie was a 2-year-old Pitbull who recently started barking at the TV. This dog barked at the TV when other dogs showed up or barked. Knowing what the exact trigger is is very helpful considering that predictability allows a certain level of control over the trigger. It helps pave the path to behavior modification since the sight and sound of dogs barking can be presented in a less stimulating way. Roxie was therefore exposed to a recording of dogs barking using a video from YouTube played from a computer (without any visual) starting from a low volume. Every time, the sound of the barking dog was presented, a tasty treat (piece of roasted chicken) followed. This was repeated several times until Roxie developed that "where's my chicken" look. She simply turned her head in our direction upon hearing the dog barking versus reacting. After several trials, the volume was increased gradually. Once she was fine with that, the same exercises were moved to the living room in front of the TV, but still using the audio recordings and now tossing the chicken on a mat. Next, videos of dogs were displayed on the TV (without audio) using a thick cloth taped to the TV screen first. Roxie was kept on leash at a distance from the TV next to the mat. The same exercise was done, feeding chicken every time Roxie spotted a dog. Once we got that "where's my chicken" look we used a gradually thinner cloth and did the same. We then graduated and used the thinnest cloth and then started adding some audio starting at low volume first. Finally, we removed the cloth altogether and played at regular volume. We used baked liver rather than chicken (liver was at the very top of her favorite things!) for this last part to more effectively compete with the saliency of the dogs barking. If at any time during the process she reacted, we took that as a sign that the stimulation level was too intense and would take a step back in the process. After several trials, we were able to have her go lie down to her mat upon seeing/hearing a dog barking and rewarded her and then we established a new routine of keeping her busy with a stuffed frozen Kong (her dinner meal made of kibble mixed with canned dog food and frozen) when the owner was watching TV in the evening. The more a dog doesn't react to the sights/sounds (despite hearing them in the background), the more we establish some level of habituation, where the TV stuff starts getting more and more boring and ho-hum.. so not worthy of paying attention to. If she is 90 percent great with the food, that 10 percent is likely what is keeping the behavior alive. The power of an intermittent schedule. Sometimes, I get to practice the behavior and other times not. Since there is some level of instinctive prey drive (to want to chase critters like the rat), we can only manage/redirect and do what we can to make the behavior less desirable. Weaning off treats, is something that needs to be done gradually. From a continuous schedule (giving a treat for every behavior), we then go to an intermittent one (although we may need at times to go temporary back to continuous when there is a new challenge/raise in criteria) where a treat is given every now and then, although we still must provide some "reward' as positive feedback under the form of praise, pats or a life reward. You are correct, we don't totally abandon treats. We need to have them for emergencies, and then maintenance sessions. What we do totally abandon though is the sight of treats, that is, we stop showing them in full sight, but this is normally done very quickly to prevent dependency and the common cliché' of "show me the money" or "my dog won't do anything if he doesn't see the treats." More about this here: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/dog-listens-treats/ and here:https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/polishing-up-training/fading-food-lures/ and here: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/polishing-up-training/fading-continuous-rewards/ With the Haltie, it is easy to become dependent on it-I mean both us and the dogs. There's a big difference to control the head of a dog and controlling the neck. That's why horses wear head halters instead of collars. We can control even large animals with halters. I can understand how upsetting it may be knowing that they didn't give her the RR and they switched her food! I had something similar happen as well (well, maybe even worse!). Rant starts- Einstein as a puppy contracting Valley Fever (a *gift* from Arizona), and I boarded him on purpose at a vet hospital because I felt he was safer there. I gave them a tot amount of 7 pills for his 5 day stay there (with a couple extra in case of a late pickup for some reason). Imagine my face when I go home and go to give him his pill and all the 5 pills are still there! I was so angry because I gave them the bottle, told them the directions and boarded him on purpose in an animal hospital so he could receive the utmost care and they forget to give him his pills! He was even diagnosed with valley fever there so they had his records and I know they look at those records every day when dogs are boarded as the put notes in there about how much they eat and over all health during their stay. Rant ends- I agree with Leah, any food/dietary changes need to be discussed. At least, they should have tried to stick to the same food! I can't imagine how frustrating it can be going through all of this and being sick on top of it. I wish I could help you more. There *might* be chances that in November I may make a trip to Florida for a couple of months. I am overseas right now working on a project so who knows, maybe I can swing by depending on where I go. It's always a good approach to make decisions when one can think clearly. Right now, you are overwhelmed with so many things! When we're "over threshold" like this, things appear very complicated and we can't think straight. Especially at night! Ever happened to you to feel like things are irremediable at night and then in the morning everything seems much easier? I can say the difference is "between night and day"-how's that as a pun? I hope the trainer that will come to your home can see how she behaves in your home setting so to offer some deeper troubleshooting. I am sending you best wishes for a speedy recovery and big supportive hug. 🤗

Hi there! Welcome to the forums, It's great that you have an English shepherd on a farm and on top of that, with the opportunity to herd cattle! To better understand the situation, I have a few questions: 1) How long have you had her? 2) Is this the first time your English shepherd has been sent out with the cattle? If not, how long has your dog been behaving this way? 3) Is there a reason why she is on leash? Not trained? Fear of scaring/hurting the cattle? 4) Is your goal having her herd the cattle? 5) Has she received any training at all? 6) What are you doing exactly when she nips you? Using hand gestures, voice, whistling to move the cattle? 7) What have you done so far when she nips/bites? 8 Is she used to wearing a leash/collar? 9) what type of collar is she wearing? 10) how is her bite inhibition? Does she break skin? leave marks? There are chances she may be frustrated with not being able to herd the cattle and redirects on you, but your further details can help provide a clearer picture. Thanks

(Thursday 26th May) I've read your crate article. What are the signs early signs that the puppy is getting uncomfortable or frustrated? ie before the whining starts? I've felt that since she's been unhappy with me about the leash and being scolded a couple of times that she is less engaged with the food lures although using the higher value treats since yesterday has made her a little more interested again. Early signs of stress can be subtle things like lip licking, yawning, or displacement behaviors such as scratching or licking. More are covered here: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/signs-fear-stress-dogs/ Going higher value can sometimes make the difference. Keep things positive and happy. She was an escaper at the puppy mamma's house (her and another were the escapers) so she is obviously very clever! I'm concerned that she wants to escape again, today when we went outside and she has done her business she wanted to rip up my plants and bushes and dig, I try to distract her with a stick which only works a little even though she loves chewing sticks.. she went to my front gate and keeps trying to squeeze her head under the gate to see if she can get out or she jumps up at the gate to peer over the board I've attached to it to ensure she doesnt just walk through the gaps in the gate. I feel like sometimes its possible to lure her with food but not always! I have managed to reward all her peeing today although not her poop as she wouldnt take the treat she was so busy sniffing... She is very lurcher.. I know you have some articles about digging too so I will go and look at those. You will need to be extra careful. Lurchers have some sighthound blood in their genetics so that means they need to always be kept in fenced areas and on leash. The fence needs to be tall, sturdy and no gaps in the gates. Recalls are a life-long skill to master and it's important to first start in the home before training it in the yard. Today I've done a little tugging on her collar and rewarding, I say tug each time I tug, do i treat each tug? or can I give several little tugs and just treat once? should I build up how hard I tug? and what is the hardest I should tug? I dont want to hurt her but I'm guessing I'm looking to desenstise her to the kind of force she exerts on the leash... oh and I have one more question how do i guage the right time for attempts at training? I'm just incorporating small things that fit with the routine of taking her outside for the loo and playing with the tug toy. It says when she's calm and quiet but I feel like she's only really calm like this when she's tired and then will she be too tired for training! Ideally, we want to reward when she "gives in" to the pressure, so when you do the very light "tug," the moment she walks in the direction to release the pressure (use a food lure initially to help her), verbally mark and reward with the food. I would start with rewarding every tug until you get that positive conditioned emotional response. You need to go very gradually, increasing criteria only once she seems comfortable with the previous step. So start with very gentle tugs and reward for giving in to the pressure (walking towards the direction to loosen the leash), but I would not progress to strong tugs as that can startle her and cause negative associations to the collar/leash. Actually, with time she should learn to respond to the slightest "tugs." You can then let the the tugs happen organically, in other words, walk around with her on leash and if she lags or pulls ahead, you you can gently guide her on what to do to loosen the leash, always rewarding her in the 'reward zone.' Once she gets the concept, you can fade the food lure, by pretending you are holding a treat to lure her in the direction, and then rewarding her from a treat from your other hand. Here is more about fading: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/polishing-up-training/fading-food-lures/ I'm feeling like a bit of failure today, it's been hard to interest her/engage her this afternoon, she wasnt too bad this morning, but this afternoon she just whined to go out a lot but each time I took her out she didnt want to do any more potty just play and I'm trying to limit that outside until we've got the nag of the leash a bit better... I did throw a stick and encourage her to play with it, but brought her in when she started trying to eat my honeysuckle and get her head out under my garden gate.... Anyway thats probably a load more questions from me lol! It would help in this case to take her out to potty on leash and keep things boring, and let her have all the fun only *after* she goes potty. Make this a routine of going potty right when sent out and if no pee or poop is produced within 5-10 minutes, then back inside and try a little later. Otherwise we risk her learning to hold it on purpose so that she gets to spend more time playing outside. Since she is so young and you are always there with her, start introducing a go potty cue as outlined here: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/potty-on-command/ The great outdoors must feel like a trip to Disney for her! Make sure to fence off those honeysuckle plants as they are toxic to dogs. Keep us posted on how things progress! Happy training! Adrienne

Regarding the crate and duration, -in terms of the videos I watched I guessed they meant most of the time because they sleep so much when they are small! I always put her in there to sleep.. a couple of times a day she'll fall asleep on one of our laps but we put her down once shes had a cuddle and been asleep for a bit, its about the balance of how much when she's awake.. In that case, it makes sense, they sleep so much because they have so much growing to do. my routine at the moment is to always take her out straight away when she wakes up from any sleep, if she doesnt go we come back in and I try to get some play to stimulate her and then we try toileting agains this usually ok we keep her out and play with her a little. Yup, that's good! Make it boring going outside, and then if she goes, praise, treat and let her play and explore, if she doesn't go, go back straight inside and monitor her carefully and take her out again in a little while or earlier if you notice signs. I try to watch she not getting overstimulated too we use tug to try tire her but only a few minutes not ages, we've got a lick mat and have soaked her kibble then sqaushed it in there and frozen it and/or put a little peanut butter in there to try keep her busy at our meal times. Yes! That's awesome so that she keeps occupied during your meals. She's usally awake for an hour or two at a go sometimes less all depends but she sleeps a lot in between she gets up around 7 if last time i toilet her is around midnight then she's usally up until 09:30 ish then sleeps till lunchtime then similar although she might have a few shorter naps in the afternoon and more shorter stints of being awake and asleep then longer sleep in the evening after evening play its 22:52 now as I type she was asleep for at least an hour while ive been doing something and she woke up about ten minutes ago. That's pretty good for her age. She's keeping it 7 hours at night and sounds like she's sleeping solid through the night.

I'm just starting to read the handling articles you mentioned so I can work out what to do with the leash at toileting time, and yeah you're right about her getting a run up, Im generally keeping the line short enough that its not full but enough there to have slack and her not feel like I'm on top of her while she's sniffing around to find somewhere to toilet, and to ensure the lead doesnt get pooped or pee'd on! but after she's done her business she wants to explore and she got a bit of the zoomies which I've been trying to get the right stimulation balance for those not to happen! But yeah I try to make sure she doesnt just go from slack to tension in one go and I call her and try to get her to chase me (rather than her thinking I'm going to chase her!) Have used some higher value treats today when toileting her so I was able to get her attention enough to reward her when she pee'd and poo'd, she's getting the hang of sit, I just want to get her comfortable with the collar and leash and make progress with the crate a little so I feel like our daily routine is manageable then I'll feel able to relax enough to start working on other things but yeah I'm not trying to do big training sessions just using the opportunities in the inevitables like toilet food and play to try set her up to be right but she not really susceptible enough to the lure yet! Was trying to use some of her kibble allowance so that I dont overfeed her. but maybe I need to mix it up a bit more! You are doing a lot of great things to help your puppy have a great start! I am thinking it may be best to take her out on a shorter leash, that way you are right there nearby to effectively time your praise and reward and don't need to worry about the line getting peed and pooped on. Then, once she pees and poops, praise that and maybe additionally reward her by snapping on the longer line so that she has more freedom to romp and explore. Many dogs get the zoomies after going potty, they seem to celebrate the sensation of relief. It can be fun to watch. Our Rottweiler Petra used to do that as a pup and as she got older she stopped doing that, but would occasionally run around after pooping with a worried look on her face when there was some poop dangling under her tail (a quite common happening in households with owners with long hair 🙂). That would actually give her a semi-panic attack!

I'm definitely not in the "you spoil the kid by going to it" school I'm into attachment parenting with babies! Most of her whining has been fairly low key kind of attention grabbing but can be a bit ow, ow, ow, ow, if she's got going a bit more, It's not been for more than a few minutes (unless we're eating a meal) I'm there waiting for her to stop so that I can let her out, but should I ignore her and not look at her atll while shes whining? or should I talk to her (give her attention) and try reassure her with my voice? (this is what I've done with her at night, if needed the first few nights I would go and open the crate and fuss her and stroke her to sleep again then close the door again). That's a great mindset! Thank so you much for sharing the pictures, she's adorable! I am all for reassuring the pups their first nights as it can be very stressful. I like to keep the crate nearby the bed and then dangle my arm down and talk and pet them to reassure them they are not alone. As the days go by though and the pups start adjusting, I gradually move the crate a bit farther and may use a Smart Pet Love Snuggle Pup behavioral aid for those who still struggle a bit. This is a fairly new, brilliant invention that has helped me a lot. So to your question, when I am sure that the whining stems from attention (basically, I know all her needs have been met, she doesn't need to potty, she's not hot, thirsty, stressed or terrified of being alone, and she seems OK being crated) it helps to send these pups the message that calm behaviors get us to open the crate, while impatient behaviors do not. So the concept we want to send is that "patience pays." So what I do with pups who whine like this is this: let's say a pup is in the crate in a room whining, I would wait by the door for a little break in the whining and immediately enter the room and walk her way, nothing emotional, just matter of fact. She starts to whine again? I make an abrupt turn and show my back. The whining intensifies? I manage to leave the room. The whining stops? I turn around and go back towards the crate. The whining resumes? I turn around again. Whining stops again, I walk back. I like to particularly turn around/ walk back towards the pup sloooowly almost to show that I am very tentative about what happens next. Almost to send the message "I am walking your way, but I am very carefully paying attention to what you are doing, if you keep quiet, I'll keep moving your way, if you make a sound I will turn and even the leave the room if it persists." I basically, help the pup understand how it's her choice whether I 'll get closer to the crate. After several trials, most pups get the idea that quiet gets you closer and even open the crate, while whining gets you farther away and even leave the room if it persists. Now, a phenomenon to be aware of with attention-seeking whining is the so-called extinction burst. Here's an example of an extinction burst: Let's imagine a mom who always gives in and buys candy for her toddler when she cries upon visiting the grocery store. Then, one day the child's dentist notices the candy is ruining the child's teeth. So from the next day, no more candy. At the store, the toddler therefore cries, and cries and cries in hopes of candy, and then eventually starts throwing a super big temper tantrum at the store (behavior getting worse), since the crying is no longer working as before. What happens though if, after several days in a row, the mom is super determined to not give in? After the crying has gotten temporarily worse, it eventually extinguishes just like a fire that is deprived from oxygen. Moral of the story: if you decide to totally ignore your pup's attention-seeking whining expect the behavior to get worse before it gets better. During the extinction burst your dog may whine louder and for longer or she may even try new behaviors in hopes of re-gaining attention such as mouthing at the crate or pawing at it. If you stick to the plan though and not approach when whining, after such increase, you should see the behavior gradually declining and then eventually extinguishing (other than an occasional whine here and there due to another phenomenon known as "spontaneous recovery." What happens though if during an extinction burst, you happen to inadvertently give any attention? This can create setbacks. The reason is because now, you will have reinforced persistence. In other words, back to the toddler example, what would have happened if the mom would have given in and bought candy right when the child had a tantrum, yelling and screaming to her embarrassment? This would have caused the old behavior of crying for candy to make a quick comeback, becoming even more established than before! Now, if mom decided again to be more determined to not buy candy, she would likely have to go through more intense yelling and screaming behaviors because the toddler has learned that if she insists, and reaches mom's breaking point, she can finally get what she wants. Sure, dogs may not intently think in such a way, but extinctions bursts are a real thing and we are destined to encounter more hurdles if we inadvertently reinforce a behavior during this delicate stage. Now, here's where things get complicated. If we recognize attention whining, and work hard on reducing that, that day we are late from work and our pup is crated and urgently needs to potty and is whining and we go open the crate door, we may risk having a comeback of whining for attention, even though in this case the underlying motive was the urge to potty. Inconsistencies aren't much our friend in training dogs because they create confusion, just like dogs who are allowed sometimes yes and sometimes no on the couch. It's the power of an intermittent schedule So there are three things we can do: 1) wait to work on attention-seeking whining when inside the crate later on, once the puppy has better bladder and bowel control, has been accustomed to being in a new place and does fine in the crate and is a little more independent, or 2) work on it from the get-go but being super diligent in doing our best of not putting the pup in the position of having to urgently be let out (which can be a bit of a challenge in the case pups have diarrhea or urinary tract infections), and ensuring the crate remains a positive, great to be in or 3) work on it intermittently-going with the flow, basically trying to tackle attention-seeking whining when it seems to stem from attention, and getting the pup out when we suspect something may be amiss. As we familiarize with our pups more, we may be able to differentiate the different types of vocalizations, although some smarty pants pups learn that if they vocalize a certain way they get us running and it may become a part of their extinction burst strategy fooling us. So it's not very easy and we need to consider several variables such as age, how well the pup is potty trained, how well the puppy does in the crate, how long the pups has been in the home, how far away the crate is from the person etc. Some great breeders are now getting really really good in getting pups used to the crate from a young age and potty training them early so that once they're in their new homes a lot of the major work has been cut for the new owners. There's a new program that has come out for educating dog breeders and many breeders are starting to teach puppies from an early age to learn the art of "manding". Pups learn to politely sit quietly in front of the crate to be asked to be let out. So in a young pup under the age of 4-5 months we can certainly introduce the pre- concept of quiet and calm gets you out of the crate (breeders have now started this as early as 4-5 weeks), although we can't be super strict about it because young pups may have their moments of being too over threshold to be able to think about sitting when they need to potty badly or are scared of being left alone or are super excited to see us etc. However, if all needs are met and we keep at it and work though the occasional extinction burst, once the pups is 5 months old and has aced potty training for the most part, and is more independent, and by now the crate feels comfy like his second home, we will have established a nice foundation and now the pre-concept has sunk in as a solid concept and can be even turned into a rule. So I guess it boils down to this, introducing the pre-concept of "patience pays" when pups are young, and then as they develop, making it more of a concept and establish it then as rule that we expect from them now that their bladders and bowels are fully developed and they have all the necessary hardware for more serious impulse control training.

we move the crate around one of us sleeps in the lounge with her in the crate at night presently so that we are nearby to reassure her or attend to her if she wakes, the overnight is not so much of a problem That's actually good! So many puppy owners struggle at night, get very little sleep as pups won't settle once the lights are off and wake up too early or repeatedly at night, so it's nice to hear you aren't having many issues with her bedtime routine. but the daytime is more difficult.. although I'm trying to give her 3 meals a day she doesnt ever eat all of it at once and we are using half of a meal as lures so effectively she is just grazing.. I'm feeding her in the crate but she doesn't eat all her food at one go. This is not uncommon with pups who have short attention spans and are easily distracted. One thing that may help, is removing the food bowl after a specific time so that she learns that if she doesn't eat it all at once, it's gone and not offered until the next meal time. So for instance, you can put the food bowl down for 15 minutes, and if she doesn't finish it, remove it and offer it later with her next meal portion. However, please check on this with your vet first. Sometimes, pups who don't readily eat their whole meal at once may be sick or having tummy troubles or they may be stressed by something and some pups may not do well with the bowl removal trick as their blood sugars get low if they don't eat until their next meal. When i put her in for a nap she might whine a little but i ignore that knowing shes been fed, toileted, stimulated, played with and tired out and she goes to sleep fine. I was watching some training videos (not yours from before we signed up to your course) and these trainers were managing to leave their puppy in the crate a lot more from day 1 and they said the dogs shouldn't have the run of choosing when to go into the crate but should be in there most of the time apart from when you take them out...This made me worry that we were doing loads of things wrong but when I tried to do keep her in there more she didnt like it so much so we had to go back a few steps... It could be these pups came from breeders or trainers who acclimatized their pups to the crate from a young age so they had most of the work cut out for them, however, I find it a bit concerning that they say to keep the pup there "most of the time" considering that young pups are in their prime time of socialization so they need ample of opportunities for play, exploration, handling exercises, socialization and training. Yet, what do they mean by "most of the time"? 90 percent time in the crate 10 percent out? -that would be way too strict.. 60 percent in the crate, 40 percent out?- that's less worrisome. When gauging how much time in the crate versus how much time out, we need to consider that every pup and situation is different, so we need to factor in several things like age, breed, energy levels, how much exercise/socialization play they get, how well conditioned they are to being crated, how their potty training is going etc. Every pup is different and we are always on a learning curve with each one. Of course, we shouldn't be giving young pups the run of the house or too much freedom as that can be overwhelming and tiring as pups need lots of sleep, and too much freedom/ overstimulation can put a dent in their potty training and they can get very cranky when they don't get the sleep they need, so as in many things in life, the best way is the golden way in between, that is, not too much freedom, not too much confinement and carefully gauge how pups do with their routines, carefully adjusting things accordingly. At this point, forcing your puppy to endure longer crating times when she's hasn't been conditioned to stay in there for briefer stays, would be very stressful, so it's important to take baby steps and work at their comfort level. my question is if you shoudn't take them out when they whine and you have to wait for them to quieten down how do you ensure that they dont get stressed out and it make the crate a negative experience? I have watched everything I can find of yours about crate training and I saw what you said about building anticipation so I'm going to start using your suggestion about putting her food in there and closing the door before letting her in there to try and build some anticipation. Is there a fine line between her whining in the crate and being traumatised in the crate? When she wakes up I assume that she will need the loo and take her straight out, one of the moments when I'm abit unsure is if I'm pottering about my house while she is sleeping in her crate I mightnt know shes awake until I hear her whining... so then what? The "love the crate" section states this: "Avoid opening the crate when your dog is whining or pawing, or you may be reinforcing the behavior. Instead, open the crate when your dog is quiet. If your dog whines or paws, take it as a sign that you have gone too fast in the process. Try crating him for briefer times and build up duration at a steadier pace." What is implied here is that, if you catch your puppy repeatedly whining when crated, that's a potential sign that your pup isn't ready for being crated for that long. So take a few steps back in the process. Now, there is whining and whining and understanding the subtle nuances may take some time as we get to know our pups better. There is the type of casual whining like "hey you! get me out of here!" and there's the type of whining like 'help! I am scared and super stressed, please help me!" The first type of whine there's not much risk in ignoring it, the latter needs help. When in doubt though, I feel it's best to err on the side of caution, so going a few steps back in the process I feel is important. This is big subject of controversy in the dog training world, as it is in the field of raising babies (should mom go to the baby every time he cries at night or will that teach him to cry more and more?) Some very recent studies came out suggesting that ignoring can cause stress and repercussions, which is is why I prefer to ensure pups are well acclimatized to the crate. so specifically I mean if she is just waking or if I have just randomly put her in there for a bit to relax in the daytime? If she's just woke I assume that she probably needs to pee, Am I supposed to wait for her to stop whining? or do i take her out toilet her and put her back in the crate so that she just assocaites her whining with me taking her to the loo? (is this positive or negative?). These are great questions and there's no sure answer as there are variables. If she is whining, we need to therefore carefully try to evaluate why. If it's near her potty time, she needs to be taken out. If it's not, and she just seems to be seeking attention, we can wait a bit for a small break in whining before opening (keeping in mind the phenomenon of extinction bursts), if it's stress whining we need to intervene and find ways to reduce such stress. In general, we put potty training as a priority so if it's close to potty time and the pup whines, we take them out, and then we can always work on extinguishing any attention-seeking whining that may have accidentally occurred as a result once the pup has better bladder/bowel control. The reason for this is that, if a puppy whines and we ignore and the pup pees in the crate, this can become a big habit that sets back the pup a lot. However, we can also set the stages for preventing whining for pee in the first place, by taking them out *before* the urge gets so strong ad impellent to evoke whining, and thus there's that benefit of putting them on a schedule. Anyway sorry for such a long thread but I've had a really good look through your website (ive not managed to read everything yet obviously as we only joined yesterday) but am desperate to get some good advice about this so we don't do the wrong thing! I also understand everything takes time and i certainly dont expect instant results with such a young puppy I just want to do the right thing with introducing these two devices I've never used with a puppy before - leash and crate! No worries, the more details the better! I am sorry that you weren't able to readily find the info you needed and it sounds like you really needed the help. I am glad you stopped by the forums. There are so many individual variables and situations when it comes to dogs and their training that a cookie-cutter approach can't be applied to all. Let me know if you have any other questions/concerns and please feel free to post here with updates! Happy training! Best, Adrienne

My 2nd question is about the crate, we were doing not so bad most of the first week(or so I thought) we had the crate door open and had put a bed in there for her (a wicker one witha cushion in) she liked this bed very much but... she started to chew on it and I felt it was causing us to scold her too much so i took it away and just put blankets in the crate, (last night was 3rd night with just blankets she tries to dig at them here and there I try to ignore her doing this) This is very common with playful and mouthy pups. You did good to replace the bed with blankets. Digging is natural as they have this instinct to dig and turn around before lying down. Ignoring her when she digs may help if the behavior is attention-driven, but if it's just out of instinct, it's self-reinforcing so it may just keep on persisting. Before living in comfy homes and being provided with comfy beds, dogs were often sleeping on grass. It was a normal instinctive ritual to walk in circles before lying down for the purpose of scaring off any hidden critters and to flatten out the grass. When it was hot, it wasn't unusual for dogs to dig themselves a cool little place through the dirt. While grass and dirt can sustain this type of damage with nobody getting majority upset, seeing a dog bed get ruined from digging, day after day, can end up being costly and disappointing overall! So no dog beds until she's mature enough to understand that dog beds are not for digging! We can help them though by providing them with something to chew when in the crate so to keep their mind off the digging. A stuffed Kong or a bully stick provided once the pup enters the crate, may help them lie down quickly and focus on something, and therefore skipping the digging part, while also creating positive associations with the crate. Some dog owners have also had success towels or using Primo Pads, special pads made of a special material that is scratch-resistant and not much appealing for dogs to chew and destroy.

Today is her 10th day with us. The first week seemed to be going ok except that she had way too much freedom in my garden and I had no control over her because no collar and leash.... last time I had a puppy was 30 years ago and that dog was trained off a leash and never wore one so this is new territory for me. This puppy belongs to my 15yr old daughter and this is how she wants to train it. We are trying really hard to use positive reinforcement but.. it still feels like there have been more times than i would like when she has been scolded (nothing too awful just a loud no where neccessary a physical removal of puppy from whatever bad decision she has made/is making no physical punishment ... we've been following the advice about using kibble to train them as well as some higher value treats... (actually most of the last 5/6 days I've just been using the kibble to lure her but she seems to be losing interest in that now..) shes either not that food motivated, easily distracted or we're getting it wrong! Your pup is very young and they have very short attention spans at this age. She may not be sure about what she needs to do with the food, so we may need to take some baby steps. Training session need to be very short and fun at this time. If there are a lot of distractions going on, you may need a higher value treat to grab her interest (like when outdoors, or in presence of children other pets, lots of noises). If you post more about what you are trying to train her, I can further add some tips and we can do some troubleshooting. So, given what I've just said about the use of food to train, the biggest problems I seem to have at the moment is two things.... the leash and whining in the crate. To take the first issue... after the first week of too much freedom in the yard I got a collar onto her a few days ago, I did it gradually and left her for a day or so with just the collar no leash to give her time to acclimatise, she's largely not bothered, although here and there she falls onto her back scratching at it! This scratching at the neck is very common, they are a little wobbly so when they scratch they end up rolling over, but things get better over the days. Keeping her distracted from it helps, like playing with her or letting her explore the yard. Make great things happen when wearing the collar! So far so good.... yesterday I started to give little tugs on it accompanied with a reward (bit of kibble) to try and get her used to the collar being tugged to desensitise her to it as much as possible. I also got a long line for a house line (which just arrived yesterday) and cut the handle off so it cant get caught on anything.. this I have started to put on her every time she is taken out of the crate so that she has it on at all times when not in the crate this is that we don't have to lunge at her to get her or stop her getting into mischief.. in the house its not too much of a problem.. as its largely trailing behind her shes tried to chew it a few times but she is well managed and suervised and so not had a good chew at it (she'd probably demolish it in no time !) she seemed a little subdued yesterday cos she didn't like it, I keep giving her a treat every time I take the leash on and off her.. the real difficulty is when we go into the yard... it s a long line and I try to keep it slack so I'm not pulling her about at all... I'm just trying to keep it slack and follow her where she wants to sniff my aim is to use it just to ensure it limits her reach (ie she cant just go running off in my garden and 'exploring'/getting into trouble) my difficulty is that as soon as she creates tension in the line (by running off further than extent of the line) she then starts bucking and freaking out when she hits the limit of the line. I dont want the leash to be a traumatic experience for her! What do I do? I feel a lot like this has to be our main focus before we can start on other things, as most things seem to need leash training to have been done before we can start on other things.. We are playing tug with her to tire her out and Im using treats to reward the dropping. But I have to say she seems a lot less food motivated this week than she did last week and once I'm outside in the yard forget it! there way are too many distractions outside so once she is bucking I can't get her attention, I just hold onto the lead and get myself to her to pick her up (whilst trying to reassure her verbally) I am not pulling or dragging her towards me, just taking up the line as I approach her.. but the problem is she clearly feels punished by this thing that has got her by the neck and it has now started her to try and run from me when i approach her to pick her up when she's panicking, whereas when shes not on a leash i dont have too much trouble apporaching her (unless she has something she shouldn't!)... She needs to learn that the leash is a predictor of good things and needs to learn how to give in to the leash pressure, using the exercises discussed in the handling article. However, with a long line, she may be running too fast and once she reaches the end of it. the tug is stronger than using a leash. Start the training/conditioning exercises indoors when sitting on the couch with a regular leash and then progress to walking around the house and then in the yard. Great things happen when she gives into leash pressure! You want to train it to a point where she develops a positive conditioned emotional response where upon reaching the end of the leash, she'll look at you and then come to you for a tasty treat. This is also a good foundation exercises for leash training once she's ready. More info about conditioned emotional responses: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/conditioned-emotional-response-cer/ You may also need to work on creating positive associations with being picked up: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/the-importance-of-picking-up-small-dogs-and-puppies-safely/

Hi there, Welcome to the forums! Please see my responses in bold: Hi Adrienne, these are useful links but.... why does every article assume the dog has been introduced to a collar and leash? How come your advice to Robert didn't include this? why are there not any articles in your website that discuss how to do this? I searched the word leash and there only seems to be one article that comes up - about pulling on the leash (when out walking we nowhere near ready for that yet!) .. nothing about how to safely introduce the leash!! surely the collar and leash introduction is the most basic training next to the crate training when a new puppy comes home? In a perfect world, we would expect dog breeders to introduce puppies to a collar and leash. This is a very, very basic teaching that can be very easily started from puppies at a very young age. I have seen great breeders starts this very early, with even day-old puppies already wearing a collar of different colors so to help differentiate one puppy from another. This is great as they get quickly used to wearing them at a time when they are "sponges" and very adept into accepting things. It's a big pet peeve of many of us dog trainers when breeders fail to get puppies used to basics such as collars and leashes, crates and being handled in general. It's a shame because the younger the pups are, the easier it is. Failure to do this, leads to many problems to new puppy owners down the road. There is an article on introducing the leash and collar and it falls under the puppy handling exercises. It's under handling because there is handling involved in getting pups used to collars and leashes along with grooming equipment. Notice that I have provided this link in the reading material sent to Robert when he asked. If you scroll down this article, you'll therefore find the collar part under "putting on collars" and the leash part under "happy leash attachments." Don't skip the exercises to get used to collar grabs. https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/exercises-to-teach-puppies-to-tolerate-touch/ If you have any questions about the process or are struggling with any parts, feel free to post here. I will post more info shortly as I finish reading through your post.

You are very welcome. These cases can be a little tricky because we need to ascertain the dog is really guarding a person and the method chosen to tackle that may vary based on individual factors. Some dogs may display protective behaviors towards people or other dogs approaching a particular owner/caregiver. From watching dogs acting ''protective'', we can deduce that, from a functional standpoint, these dogs are displaying a distance-increasing behavior that is reinforcing to the dog. In other words, these dogs desire space and want to put distance with dog that is approaching. We can deduce this because, when the person or other dog is approaching their favorite person, these dogs get increasingly stressed, and when the person or other dog leaves, these dogs appear relieved. Many dogs have a space bubble, that is, an imaginary boundary, which when surpassed, makes the dog feels on the defensive. Dogs acting protective have a space bubble in place, but only exclusively when they are in company of their favorite person. In absence of their favorite person, these dogs do not exhibit "protective" behaviors such as tensing up and barking, growling and lunging. The barking, growling and lunging are therefore external manifestations of an internal turmoil with the dog pleading for distance when in presence of a particular person. What is causing though the internal turmoil in these dogs? Are these dogs bold? Are they jealous? We can only make assumptions, but in most cases, confident, well-socialized dogs typically aren't the ones to act protective. Most often the issue stems from insecurity and fear. It comes natural for dogs to form a strong emotional attachment to certain caregivers and therefore, it is possible for the dog to "resource guard" his favorite person from other dogs just as they would do with a high-value bone, toy or a favorite sleeping spot. This type of guarding often stems in insecure dogs who are afraid of losing access to their resource. On the other hand, more than a willful desire to protect a resource, there are chances that some dogs simply feel very safe when nearby a particular person so they act more "boldly" and put up a scene of "get away from us...or else..." Indeed, if the owner happens to toss the leash and leave, the dog is likely to turn around and leave too rather than confronting the other dog alone. Whichever the underlying cause, the behavior most likely stems from an underlying fear of either losing a resource (their favorite person) or feeling threatened by dogs the dog doesn't feel safe around, or perhaps a combination of both. Interestingly, some dogs act protective of a particular person in particular circumstances, such as when the caregiver is pregnant or sick or when that particular person is sleeping. Some dogs may become protective in certain stages of the owner's life. Some dogs may grow protective once the dog owner grows old and some dogs only act protective towards children. Others act protective only if other dogs approach when the owner is sitting down. Regardless of when or how the behavior happens, one thing is for sure, fast intervention is needed to nip this behavior in the bud before it is given the chance for establishing. Distance-increasing behaviors such as barking, growling and lunging at other dogs when they approach the owner generally have a strong reinforcement history at play. This is because every time the dog puts on the aggressive display, approaching dogs tend to raise a "white flag" and move away. Protective dogs perceive this as Rover scoring 1 point and the other dog leaving scoring a big, fat 0. While most dogs don't keep tabs on things like this, you get the point: if the behavior works, you can rest assured it will repeat and strengthen. Now, some times dog owners may unintentionally exploit a dog's protective behavior by encouraging it rather than taking steps in extinguishing it. This because they feel flattered by their dogs' guarding behaviors and perceive them as a sign they own a valuable guardian who will protect them from "people with bad intent." Sadly, this is rarely the case and these dogs just become "indiscriminate protectors " who will act aggressive towards everyone approaching, including innocent people and children. Due to a strong reinforcement history, these cases can be more challenging to overcome. Management to prevent the dog from rehearsing the troublesome behavior entails not allowing other dogs/people to approach the protected person when in presence of the dog. Behavior modification for protective dogs is likely to be based on desensitization and counterconditioning and often consists of treat delivery being contingent upon the presence of other dogs/dogs approaching, and then, once the dog leaves, treat delivery stops. You would have your dog wear a muzzle if you think she might bite as accidents may always happen (an off leash dog approaching quickly giving you little time to move away, a child approaching out of nowhere). All dogs should be gradually trained to accept a muzzle: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/video-archive/train-your-dog-to-wear-a-muzzle/ Try your best to stay away from areas where stray dogs abound or dogs are kept off leash. Dogs are therefore exposed gradually and systematically (desensitization) to situations known to evoke the protective behavior making sure the dog doesn't go over threshold https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/threshold-levels/ and positive associations are created (counterconditioning). For example, the dog may be shown the other dog known to evoke protective behaviors at a distance from where the dog is calmer or just less likely to react, and at the same time, she is fed high-value treats. The treat-feeding time is contingent upon the dog's presence. Then once, these figures are out of sight, no more treats are fed. This training method is known as "open/bar closed bar" and was crafted by dog trainer and behavior expert, Jean Donaldson. Here is more about it: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/open-bar-closed-bar/ Something similar can be done with a neighbor. Every time when your dog is in the yard with you, the neighbor is noticed at a distance from which your dog is under threshold (you would have to work with your neighbor on this to provide a structured setting), several small pieces of high value treats are fed to the dog one after another. When the neighbor leaves, no more treats. The exercises is repeated several times. The goal is to obtain a positive conditioned emotional response, when the dog sees a person or dog approaching you. https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/conditioned-emotional-response-cer/ Should you ask your dog to perform a behavior before feeding treats? We are so used to feed treats to dogs "operating", that it may sound odd to feed treats for a dog only acknowledging something. That would be counterproductive though. Firstly, because dogs may be too concerned about their triggers to cognitively function (in other words it's hard for dogs to concentrate when they overly worried about a situation) and second because there are chances that the dog may think her behavior made the high-value treats happen when instead we want to create a strong trigger/food association rather than a trigger/behavior association. Avoid having people approaching you to hand feed your dog. This may lead to dog approach/avoidance behaviors. With the help of professional though, people approaching you can toss treats to your dog in a treat-retreat fashion basically, tossing treats *past* your dog. https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/treat-retreat-game/ Use a muzzle if your dog is prone to biting and make sure you have several layers of safety precautions in place with the help of a dog behavior professional to play it safe. If your dog at any time reacts, that is often a sign that he wasn't ready for that level of interaction and therefore you need to work from further distance or reduce the salience of the stimulus/situation. With dogs acting protective towards other dogs approaching, things are a bit more challenging because you need both dogs to be perfectly under control. Hence, the importance of using leashes and a helper to keep both dogs at a distance from each other and prevent them from getting too close. For mild cases of a dog preventing another dog from approaching the owner, it helps feeding the protective dog treats every time the other dog approaches. Of course, help from a professional is always advised for safety and correct behavior modification implementation. More about this can be found here: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/dogs-fighting-over-owner/ Remember: behavior modification takes some time to implement and requires management when the dog is not being actively worked with and conditioned. This means that when these sessions are not practiced, the dog should be kept away from his triggers (management) considering that, as mentioned, it can be highly reinforcing for dogs to bark/growl and lunge considering that the person or dog in question often leaves/or is removed following this display. Disclaimer: behavior modification comes with risks. If your puppy or dog shows signs of potential aggression (lunging, barking, growling, snapping, biting) for safety, please consult with a dog behavior professional who uses force-free behavior modification techniques (no shock, prongs, or physical corrections) for direct in-person guidance. Articles, videos and general info found in the forums or course (or any online source) are not meant to replace in-person training/instruction. By using this course and forum, you are waiving any liability claims or other type of claims related to any dogs' behavior against you or others.

Very nice! Atari is very responsive to the cues despite the distraction of the car! Great work there, don't forget to pat yourselves on the back too! Now, asking a puppy with a herding heritage to totally ignore cats is a strong expectation. I mean it is doable, but mostly for sustained periods of time and always under close supervision just as you are working with the car. Left to their own devices, pups want to play or chase/herd and we can't totally remove that drive because it's so hardwired, however we can manage and redirect. Moving forward, you can have Atari on leash and practice the same as you did with the car, but this time with one cat, but consider there is a big jump between a car and a cat so you need to progress slowly and add some intermediate steps such as: Adding some elements to the car that makes it appear 'fluffy' like a fleeting cat Practicing dragging a stuffed animal on a rope Practicing with Atari on leash and one cat stationary Practicing with Atari on leash and one cat walking by at distance Practicing with Atari on leash with the cat running Practicing with Atari off leash but body blocking Practicing with Atari off leash but body blocking very slightly Practicing with Atari off leash without body blacking You may find it easier practicing first in areas away from where Atari spends most of the time as many dogs don't like cats entering their perceived territory (where they have their water bowls, beds, toys) so they may feel compelled to chase the cats away. The last exercises off leash are the ones that worry us the most. We may need some extra steps in between and precautions in place. It can therefore help to have several plans in place just in case. For instance, a place for the cats to jump away where the pup cannot access, if a "leave it" is ignored and the pup start chasing, a good response to a recall with some high value foods tossed on the flood to stop the pup in the tracks and divert her, some plan to break up an eventual fight between dog and cat. If there is any fear of the pup harming the cats or we feel the need of an extra layer of caution we can use a bite-proof muzzle (like a wire basket muzzle or a Jafco muzzle). I suggest conditioning puppies to muzzles in any case as it's easier when young and takes some time. I suggest this training for all dogs. We may need to use them at the vet's office or when we have to medicate. Here's a guide on that: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/video-archive/train-your-dog-to-wear-a-muzzle/ Muzzles are for temporary use and although they can help provide some peace of mind, it's important to consider that they cannot fix the underlying problem. On top of this, cats can cause significant damages to dogs too so we always need close supervision.

Hi there! Welcome to the forums, Please see my thoughts/tips in non-bold. I have a 2.5yr old lab that I adopted 4.5mths ago. She was heartworm positive and just got off her restrictions from treatment so we haven’t had much of a chance to work on socialization. She was locked in a bathroom with no windows and little human or dog interaction for the first yr of her life according to the shelter and then spent another year in a kennel at the shelter. Thank you so much for opening your heart and home to a rescued dog! It's sad when dogs miss out on crucial socialization and are neglected in many ways. It's great though that she is now in good hands! I am sure it must feel great now that she no longer needs restricted exercise/cage rest. Being heartworm positive on top of a history of not being socialized/receiving interaction must have been tough on both of you! I have slowly introduced her to two of my aunts dogs and they play and kiss each other and share toys and water dish and sleep next to each other. However, she has had moments where she will suddenly stare at them with fixed eyes and then attack. I have taken her to the vet to rule out medical issues. She just snaps so quick I’m concerned I won’t be able to stop her or correct her in time without her having a muzzle. I don’t want to make her worse though. This sounds concerning. I mean the fact that she snaps so quickly and randomly. I was hoping to read about some trigger like "she will attack when my other aunt's dogs come too close to me, or when I am petting her and my aunts dogs' come nearby me or when they get close to her food bowl, toys or her bed." Even "she attacks when the other dogs try to play with her or are getting out of a door or tight passageway or when they're sleeping and moving in REM stage" could have been better than just random attacks with no predicting events. However, one good thing is that at least you have a precursor sign of her about to snap: that is, the hard stare. We often see this hard stare, with the fixed eyes glazed over when the dog is warning of an impending attack because another dog is getting too close to their perceived territory or something that they find valuable (toys, food bowl, sleeping areas). Some dogs may even act possessive of people just as they would do with a valuable bone. I am glad that you had her checked over by a vet because many dogs will also give hard stares when they are not feeling well such as having achy joints or something else internally going on. So a thorough check up is important. Should I keep her away from all other dogs or is it ok to put a muzzle on her for safety when she is around them (with me present of course). OK, so in these cases we need to carefully evaluate use of a muzzle. Just recently, I was asked whether it would be appropriate to muzzle a dog when exposed to a toddler who is at the grabby stage, grabbing the dog's tail which the dog doesn't like and has caused him to snap at the child. Sure, a muzzle can add an extra layer of protection, but it you're putting on a muzzle so that the toddler can liberally pull on the dog's tail and smack his face over and over and your dog can't react by biting, that is a big no-no. Dogs shouldn't be expected to put up with everything a toddler does without wincing or reacting. Rather, it should be the other way around, the toddler needs to learn how to behave properly when around a dog. If the toddler never learns this, he or she may get bitten/attacked by any dog he is exposed to and it likely won't be pretty. So a better plan of action would be if the child can be guided by the parents who can show him how to gently pet the muzzled dog, while the dog receives tasty treats. So back to your case, putting a muzzle on a dog who hard stares and tries to snap with little warning and for no particular reason, without working on the underlying issue can cause more problems along the road. Even though your Lab can't bite, she will still be emotionally charged and she gets to rehearse reactive/aggressive behaviors such as hard staring, growling, snarling, snapping and lunging. The more dogs get to rehearse these problematic behaviors, the more they put roots and become habit-forming. On top of this, when dogs rehearse reactive/aggressive behaviors stress hormones circulate around the dog's body which can have a snow-ball effect and lead to trigger stacking. Therefore, it's important to avoid any situations that may cause your dog to react negatively. This is known as "management." Management basically entails not putting your dog into situations that evoke reactive behaviors and the underlying negative emotions. It helps prevent a dog's behavior from getting worse. So in this case, unless a precise pattern is recognized as to what predictably evokes her behavior of hard staring and snapping, it would be best to keep her away from these encounters. Firstly for safety as we don't know what level of bite inhibition she or your aunts dogs have in case biting occurs and they react defensively, secondly because we don't want her attacks to negatively impact your aunts' dogs emotionally, thirdly to prevent rehearsal of problematic behavior and its negative repercussions. On top of this, with muzzles to prevent biting we need to be absolutely certain that the muzzle used is bite-proof (most are not) and muzzles need to be introduced gradually. In any case, muzzle training comes always handy so that we are prepared for that time our dog may need to wear one: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/video-archive/train-your-dog-to-wear-a-muzzle/ She is also extremely reactive to other dogs on walks which we have been working on…high quality treats/clicker, turning and walking the other way, sit and stay. Trying different methods. Even on walks we need to be extra careful in not allowing her to rehearse reactive behaviors. If she is extremely reactive, you may need to take some steps back and start from getting a calm state upon watching dogs walk by at a distance. Firstly, it would help to obtain a fluent response to the smacking sound: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/the-airplane-game/the-smacking-sound/ Then one can do some exercises at a distance from a window with helpers walking dogs back and forth using the LAT by the window exercise making the smacking sound: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/university/look-at-that/ The goal again is to get a nice +CER https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/conditioned-emotional-response-cer/ Afterward, one can progress with the dog on leash with the door open and helpers walking dogs once again back and forth. Praise and treats for calmly looking at the dogs walking by. Then, the exercise can be done by the deck, then on the sidewalk, always with the helper dogs being walked back and forth. Important is to always monitor the dog for signs of being over threshold and aiming to keep under the threshold as much as possible. https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/threshold-levels/ Any setbacks (like barking, growling, tensing up) need to be considered and steps should be taken to reduce the chances for these to repeat (increasing distance, walking the dog at a slower pace, avoiding direct eye contact between the dogs). The plan needs to be measured for signs of progress and any repeated setbacks must be taken as a sign that we are working too fast and need to take some steps back. Being caught off guard is something that can turn problematic. This also makes dogs more likely to be hypervigilant (I need to be prepared as dogs seem to pop up suddenly from anywhere). If a dog is coming your way and your dog needs more distance, simply do an emergency U-turn, it sounds like you're already doing this which is great: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/emergency-u-turn/ Because dogs who are reactive on walks tend to go over threshold and rehearse reactive behaviors, many behavior professionals suggest now that, when feasible, reactive dogs should take a break from walks around other dogs until they are better under threshold. This helps lower cortisol levels and decreases risks for the trigger stacking phenomenon. During this time, dogs should be provided with mental stimulation (brain games) and some prep training that can turn helpful during walks (smacking sound, attention heeling) https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/obedience-101/heeling-attention-heeling/) In general, I find that attention heeling works better than sitting considering that it keeps the dog moving (increasing distance) versus being static which can cause some dogs to feel more vulnerable. It's worth of experimenting whether your dog seems to respond to this better as well and leaving the sits and stays for later on. I have also found that some dogs respond better to treats being tossed to the ground rather than hand-fed as it's more dynamic and a fun game. Other methods to keep her more under threshold include scanning the road ahead and walking in areas without corners as much as possible, (just a straight road with plain views where you can always see dogs with people approaching) using distance, and again doing emergency u-turns as needed to prevent a dog from coming too close. Calming aids (DAP collar, calming supplements with l-theanine etc check with your vet) may help as well. Some dogs are too overwhelmed to be learning and therefore may need prescription medication to calm down enough to open up those cognitive functions. Working alongside with a professional can help on many fronts such as reading her body language, keeping her under threshold as much as possible, keeping you, and people and other dogs safe, protecting your hard work from setbacks, and making important judgement calls such as when to progress. A behavior professional may also have access to a 'bomb-proof" dog that can be used for the task and is savvy in giving out calming signals. Some may even start with stooge dogs to act as real dogs before moving into LAT. I hope this helps! Please keep in mind that the above is just an "example" of a behavior intervention plan for a dog who is reactive towards other dogs. Only a behavior professional working with you directly can provide you with a customized plan after carefully evaluating your dog and her specific triggers. Keep me posted on how things go and feel free to ask any other questions! Happy training! Best, Adrienne Disclaimer: behavior modification comes with risks. If your puppy or dog shows signs of potential aggression (lunging, barking, growling, snapping, biting) for safety, please consult with a dog behavior professional who uses force-free behavior modification techniques (no shock, prongs, or physical corrections) for direct in-person guidance. Articles, videos and general info found in the forums or course (or any online source) are not meant to replace in-person training/instruction. By using this course and forum, you are waiving any liability claims or other type of claims related to any dogs' behavior against you or others.

Thank you for the extra details, very helpful! So this confirms that something must have happened that changed how your golden perceives other dogs. I think the extra details further point to the assumption that the nip from the other dog may have precipitated things leading to a snowball effect. Perhaps something about how the Rottweiler was playing was being misinterpreted as a threat triggering defensiveness. Yet, we can't know with 100 percent certainty, as there can be other factors at play. For instance, if a dog has an underlying medical issue such as underlying pain then that can lower a dog's threshold for acting defensive making them more likely to react. We also need to factor in, that in several dogs, things change once they reach the adolescent stage and become socially mature. https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/survive-dogs-adolescent-stage/ Also, we must consider trigger stacking. Trigger stacking takes place when a dog is stressed from something and then something else sums up to it, causing a cumulative effect, and this makes them more reactive. It's good news that Bailey seems to have great bite inhibition. That is a big plus for these cases. So I think at this point, giving him a break from daycare is important so to prevent things from further snowballing. Even though dogs can into scuffles where there is more loud noise than injuries, in some cases, these scuffles can have a deep emotional impact from which it can become challenging to recover. At this point, removing him from daycare for some time can help prevent things from getting worse. It's important that you protect your dog from any future negative encounters that may further cause stress. Keep in mind that stress levels may take several days to go down, so protect your dog from certain close encounters until your dog is ready. It's fundamental during this recovery time to prevent off-leash dog encounters. While this safe "buffer of space" is not the treatment for undoing emotional damage, it's a good starting point so that your dog relaxes and trusts you to handle the issue. After some time, you can then carefully assess your dog's comfort levels with having other dogs walking on leash nearby, including dogs of different ages, sex, sizes, coat colors and energy levels. Keep an eye for any subtle signs of stress. https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/signs-fear-stress-dogs/ If a certain pattern is noticed (like your dog doesn't like male dogs or isn't comfortable with dogs who are bouncy or a bit hyper) you then have the basis on what to specifically work on. If instead he reacts to every type of dog, that can be sign that the issue has generalized so you'll need a more generalized approach. You can therefore set up some specific desensitization and counterconditioning situations so to gradually extinguish the patterns found. Desensitization involves exposing the dog systematically to his triggers. In order to work well, in a good desensitization program the dog needs to be kept as much as possible under threshold. Here's the meaning of threshold: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/threshold-levels/ Here is a read on desensitization: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/desensitization/ Here is a read on counterconditioning: Counterconditioning involves creating positive associations with the dog's triggers. In order to work well, a good counterconditioning program incorporates things the dog finds very reinforcing provided contingent upon the exposure to the trigger. Here is a read on counterconditioning: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/counterconditioning/ Start by training a fluent response to the smacking sound: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/the-airplane-game/the-smacking-sound/ Then use that for Look at That Exercises done every time you see another dog from a window, then on walks, making a smacking sound and feeding treats every time a dog walks by from a distance where your dog is better under threshold: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/university/look-at-that/ the goal is to repeatedly present the triggers with something perceived by the dog as pleasant such as food to the point of the trigger becoming a predictor of great things, creating what is known as a positive "conditioned emotional response (CER)." https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/conditioned-emotional-response-cer/ If your dog at any time reacts, take that as a sign that he has been exposed to a too intense situation. Take a step back and increase further distance from the trigger. Once you have positive CER, you can then work on closer encounters going very slowly. After some time, as your dog seems more relaxed, he may be able to progress to closer encounters with other dogs. I asked if you have a daycare run by dog trainers (make sure they are force-free) as they can help with re-introductions and hopefully a remedial socialization program. Basically, they may use their own "teacher dogs" or carefully screened dogs to ensure everything stays positive and help out in the process. For sake of comparison, the process is similar to attending a Toastmasters' meeting for those folks with a terror of public speaking. In these meetings, people are encouraged to speak in a safe, supportive environment where they don't feel rejected or ridiculed. Dogs suitable for such encounters are often super socialized dogs, dogs who have met countless dogs and who know how to properly interact. Ideally, these are dogs who are very adept at reading other dogs and delivering the right body language. These "teacher dogs" dogs should be masters in sending calming signals to fearful, tentative dogs. Your dog needs to feel safe and relaxed so to create good memories. Creating several positive emotional responses is important so to replace the negative ones. Always end the sessions on a positive note, praising your dog lavishly so that these new events help at least partially take the edge off the fearful memories. Slow and steady wins the race in behavior modification, so it's important working at the dog's pace. You can then very gradually work on introducing him back slowly to dogs in a very structured and managed way. Now, not all dogs are ready to interact with other dogs and play again after being nipped/attacked. The dog trainer/ behavior consultant should be able to assess your dog for signs of tension. If the assessment reveals that your dog is tense around other dogs, then prior to scheduling positive interactions such as play and walks with other dogs, more behavior modification may need to be carried out to better manage and protect your dog's emotional wellbeing. I hope this help Bailey feel more comfortable. Let me know if you have any questions/concerns.