Undoing unknown damage

[JoiC]

Hi

I'm Joi and I have a 9 month old Belgian Malinois named Finn. Finn is an amazing dog but, as Malinois tend to be, a handful and a half. This is complicated by some unknown damage he must have experienced before I got him. I was told he was kept "crated" and not properly socialized - which is a problem with any dog but especially so so a 75-pound puppy. My biggest problem with him is that he's VERY skittish- of pretty much everything. He will NOT get into the car (I have to use Acepromazine to sedate him for vet visits and this rules out us being able to do fun stuff like camping and hiking) and he's scared of just about everything: trash cans, plastic bags, potted plants, the kitchen (who knows?) and the list goes on. I've been working with him slowly since I got him two months ago and now he's NOT terrified of the TV or of me turning on the shower (both activities used to have him running for his crate) but we have a long way to go. Before I can do much more with training I feel like I need to get him over some of these issues. I look forward to using the Brain Training program - he's scary smart - but wonder if there are any words of wisdom for the owner of a dog like him.

Appreciate any helpful comments.

Joi & Finn

 

PS: Finn is my first Malinois so I'm a novice with the breed. My previous dogs have been German Shepherds, Labs and mutts.

Edited March 11, 2018 by JoiC

[Adrienne Farricelli]

Hello Joi, and welcome to the forum!

You are right to be concerned about Finn's past, but the good news is that he is lucky to now have a dedicated owner like you who is dedicated to making some changes for the best. The Brain Training Program will help build a strong foundation and will help in boosting Finn's confidence. The training components being reward-based, will also help build a stronger bond with you, and with him trusting you more and more, this means that you will become a stronger "influencer" in his eyes which is a great aid for when he acts fearful of things.

 

For when you are out and about, encountering several of his triggers, you will have to invest some time in performing what's known as "remedial socialization." A graded approach moving at a slow pace to keep up with his comfort level is fundamental. A good place to start is reading about threshold levels. Getting very familiar with that thin, imaginary line that separates reactive behavior from less reactive behavior/calmer behavior is important and the goal should be to try as much as possible to stay beyond that.

 

With your dog under threshold, you will have to expose him then to lower intensity levels of things he fears through what's known as desensitization. To power things further up, you want to implement as well counterconditioning.

 

You can start at home for some issues since many of the items you mention he's scared of are things you may have indoors or in the yard. So for example, here's an exercise we do a lot with puppies. We place an upside-down chair (or any other item that may evoke a fearful response), and at a distance from it, from where the puppy is not overwhelmingly intimidated, we start praising and rewarding (with high value treats) initially for simply looking at the object, then slightly approaching it, then investigating it and then finally we throw a jackpot (several treats given at once) for interacting with it (sniffing it or pawing it) for whatever brief time that is.

 

Now this requires some finesse, trying as much as possible to prevent the pup from going over threshold and systematically controlling the situation in organized set-ups so to protect the pup (and all his progress) from any mishaps (eg. the object falling and creating a setback). If at any time a setback occurs, that is a sign we have progressed too fast at a level the pup wasn't ready for, so we need to take a few steps back to remedy the situation.

 

On top of that, it's important how treats are given when the puppy is investigating the object. Tossing treats so that the pup gets closer to the object is a no-no because this may stimulate approach-avoidance behaviors which you can read more about here: approach-avoidance. Treats are best tossed away from the object. Only once the pup learns to trust the object more and after seeing a conditioned emotional response (almost an eagerness to interact with the object because it has attained a strong reinforcement history) we can think of starting placing high-value treats on the object itself.

 

You may also find targeting objects helpful to boost up his confidence. Targeting exercises are found in the Brain Training Course. Start with training him to target your hand, and then progress to using a pencil, a ruler, a branch etc.

 

Other helpful reads are the Jolly Routine , Open Bar Closed Bar and the Treat Retreat Game.

 

Tackling his issues therefore takes a multi-faceted approach. On one hand, boosting his confidence internally through positive-based training and brain games, and on the other hand, working on his triggers directly but using a graded, systematic approach so to progress at his comfort level.

 

I hope this helps! Let me know if I can be of any further assistance,

Good Luck with Finn and happy training!

Adrienne

Edited March 12, 2018 by Adrienne Farricelli