Reactive 1 year old cockapoo

[RebekahHereward]

Hello all, I would love some advice. My 1 year old cockapoo is so reactive to everything! It’s like she’s on high alert so the tiniest sounds and she has to go investigate, or in the park she wants to chase / greet every dog / bird / squirrel etc! She also struggles to settle in new places so if we visit a holiday cottage she won’t settle, or even in other peoples gardens she won’t settle. If anyone had any advice I’d be so appreciative!! Thank you x

[Adrienne]

Hello and welcome to the forums!

If there are noises in the home that you can hear and that happen in a predictable manner, you may find playing the "hear that" method helpful:

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/fear-noises/

Chasing is a highly-reinforcing behavior, and the more we allow a dog to rehearse it, the more they'll chase. It would be therefore best to keep her under control as not every dog likes to be chased and we don't want her to chase every furry thing moving. I would suggest keeping her on leash or on a long line, until you can train her to be better under control in face of distractions.  Here is a read on chasing:

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/chasing-things/

Training her to reliably respond to a smacking sound can also be helpful:

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/the-airplane-game/the-smacking-sound/

Many dogs struggle when in new places. Their routines change, there are new smells and unfamiliar surroundings can make them nervous. Being taken away from familiar schedules and places has an impact on the dog's emotional stability. It's as if their state of homeostasis is disrupted and this interferes with their normal functioning. How much dogs are impacted when they are "thrown off balance" tends to vary. In general, the more a dog has traveled and been socialized since being a puppy, the more she is likely to easily adjust and  baseline rather quickly. 

So in the case of a holiday cottage, try to pay attention to what makes her extra vigilant.  Is it people talking? The luggage rolling? Children running? People getting out of their cars? Outdoor noises?

We have traveled with our two Rottweilers (Einstein and Petra) across the United States and abroad several times. This means lots of hotel stays and even cabin stays on cruises. Rottweilers, in general, have a tendency to bark at noises, and during our first hotel stays, both our dogs initially were starting to bark at people walking by the door.

So every time people were walking by, I tossed my dog's treats or kibble making sure they landed away from the door in a treat-retreat fashion. https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/treat-retreat-game/

I did this several times until positive associations were formed and I noticed a conditioned emotional response. https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/conditioned-emotional-response-cer/ 

 Basically, upon hearing the sounds of people walking, rather than barking, my dogs were looking at me with anticipation with the little stubs of their tails wagging! After some time, they calmed down considerably and got tired chasing treats, so I gave them a long-lasting chew and they would fall asleep for the night. We kept doing this routine on every trip and it always worked like a charm! Every trip, there was also less and less need of tossing treats, and at some point, we were able to even use their regular kibble, which was a win-win as they got to "work" for their food!

More tips that come to mind:

-Buffer Sounds Use some noise to cover up outside sounds such as leaving the TV or radio on. Using a white-noise machine may come in handy too. You can now even use YouTube videos offering free white noise. Some dog owners keep on the bathroom fan to help buffer sounds.

-Play Calming Music. If feasible, bring along calming CDs made just for dogs such as Through a Dog's Ear. Nowadays, you may also find a lot of music specifically crafted for dogs offered for free on YouTube. This calming music may turn helpful for relaxing you too!

-Use a Barrier. The closer your dog stays by the door, the more compelled she may feel to bark. You can make a barrier using chairs and your suitcases to prevent your dog from lunging towards the door area.

-Bring a sense of familiarity. It may also help to provide familiar things along (food bowls, toys, doggy bed) . Train your dog to lie on a mat and bring along the mat for travel: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/video-archive/train-dog-go-to-mat/

-Boost your pups' confidence. Here are some exercises.

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/exercises-build-confidence-insecure-dogs/  

Hope this helps,

Happy travels!

Best,

Adrienne