Where to start? Where to go?

[camilleswescott]

I just started Brain Training. There are lots of great activities. My problem is knowing what to do. My dog has the basics, but needs to perfect them. He unpredictably (1/20 times) lunges at people, dogs, bikers, etc. After our two week vacation he hates being in his crate and has chewed on the door twice. We’ve worked on separation anxieties in the past and it has returned.

Where do we start, and how should we progress through the training? Does he need to pass all the 101 before starting preschool?

Thanks!

[JMFS]

I Think Adrienne is going to want to know what your training goals are so she has a point of reference to give you navigation advice.

 

Here's a link to a similar question to get you started, though: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/forum/showthread.php?46-New-puppy-on-the-way-some-questions I'll leave the rest up to the expert, though I do have a post somewhere around here where Adrienne gave me steps to addressing separation anxiety. I have to dash now, but I'll try to remember to look that one up. I Think it was under my Thundershirt post if you want to get started - you can try to find it with the search tool.

[camilleswescott]

My primary goals are:

1. Reducing reactivity

2. Reducing separation anxiety

[JMFS]

In that case, here's the separation anxiety information: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/forum/showthread.php?130-Thundershirt&p=572&viewfull=1#post572 BTW, I don't use the Thundershirt any more. I couldn't really got into training with it.

 

For reactivity you're going to be working on gradually introducing her to stimuli while she's under threshold. I'll see if I can dig up a couple posts on that because I know they're around here somewhere! You've got some of the more common issues going on so there's plenty of info. :) The approach is going to depend on what type of reactivity, too. Is it aggression, or is it barrier frustration (he wants to greet these things but can't because of the leash or a fence)?

 

Here's a post about lunging. https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/forum/showthread.php?203-Lunging-and-barking-at-children&highlight=lunge I did buy a front attachment harness and I'm in love with it. Gertie isn't a lunger or puller, but she does get excited and tries to get ahead of me, and the harness has greatly reduced that behavior. I got mine on Chewy because they had more colors than Amazon and an amazing return policy, just in case things don't work out. We all know how our dog looks is Very important (ha!) so color options was a big selling point. Really, it's more a psychological trick on people who aren't warm and fuzzy about dogs. I've noticed they seem to relax a little more around a dog who's got a little fashion happening. Here's the link to the one I got: https://www.chewy.com/2-hounds-design-freedom-no-pull-dog/dp/136937

 

Here's one about reactivity to other dogs: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/forum/showthread.php?113-Over-excitement&highlight=lunge

 

Then here's a slew of links to the training program from another post that deals with a related issue (theirs was more a resource guarding problem so I didn't bother with the post link):

 

Threshold levels: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/m...eshold-levels/

Desensitization: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/m...sensitization/

Counterconditioing:https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/m...rconditioning/

Differential reinforcement of incompatible behaviors:https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/m...ble-behaviors/

Attacking other dogs on walks (I don't think this pertains to you, but it was lumped in with them so I kept it): https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/m...ng-dogs-walks/

[camilleswescott]

It may help to know he can sit, lay, stay, wait, move, come, leave it/take it,hi five, and spin in a quiet environment. We’re working on responding to the kissing noise and touch now, and being more consistent with what he knows.

[Adrienne Farricelli]

Hi Camilleswescott,

Jennifer gave you a lot of excellent pointers to get you a headstart on the issues you are facing. Lots of time and patience is needed to work on separation anxiety and ideally, I tell dog owners to take several days off work to work on the issue. Some of the more significant cases may require the intervention of a veterinarian/veterinary behaviorist as dogs with separation anxiety are often way too over threshold and prescription meds may be needed along with behavior modification as behavior modification alone may not be sufficient. Then, as the dog starts learning to relax, those meds can be gradually weaned off.

 

One important distinction to point out is that there is a difference between separation anxiety and containment phobia. Some dogs may seem to have separation anxiety when in reality, they do just fine if they are out the crate when left alone. These dogs are stressed from the crate mainly.

 

There are many threads on dog reactivity. Here is one on a dog reactive towards children, https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/forum/showthread.php?203-Lunging-and-barking-at-children The process is quite similar regardless of what the dog is reactive to. However, if your dog is social and his barking and lunging is due to his strong desire to go meet people/dogs and he gets frustrated because he can't (barrier frustration) then that needs a slightly different approach. Let me know if that may be the case.

 

Because behavior modification differs from dog training, as it involves changing a dog's emotional response to triggers and there can be some extra risks involved (dog may escape the leash and bite someone, or dog may bite owner in a redirected bite if too aroused/startled), it is always best to consult with a dog behavior professional employing force-free methods for safety and correct implementation.

 

You don't have to necessarily pass all the 101 in order to start the Brain Games as many brain games are pretty simple, but it helps to have some basic obedience down so that you can work your way towards the games that require some skills such as sit/stays and down/stays etc. Some games require a certain level of impulse control so you may not be able to do them if your dog isn't trained at least some basics.

 

If you are ever struggling on some brain game, it may be that you may have to first perfect some obedience skills, but those brain games that require stronger obedience skills are at the upper level. Important to point out is that a skill can't be by definition said to have been learned well if the dog is unable to generalize the behavior in various places (in the yard, on walks). In such cases, more work needs done to obtain a more fluent response.

 

Hope this helps!

Happy training!

Edited August 13, 2019 by Adrienne Farricelli