Can’t create distance and vet behaviorist

[AngieTorres]

I just realized a big problem. When my dog sees a trigger she freezes. The only way for me to create distance with a dog coming toward us is to practically drag her away and even then she’s probably still barking. When dogs are parallel or in front of us walking the same direction as us she’s usually good but that’s rare to encounter. As long as a dog is moving toward us in any way she’s wigging out. She knows “this way” means follow me but she doesn’t always listen, especially not when she sees a trigger. And as a general update I am trying to get her to see a veterinary behaviorist since our insurance will cover some of it. But the wait times are anywhere from 2-4 months. Oof. What should I do in the meantime? I’m trying to find a positive trainer I can afford. 

[Adrienne Farricelli]

Hi Angie Torres,

It sounds like you need to tweak your plan to keeping her better under threshold. The freezing ,the barking, the turning around and not following you, are signs that she is too over threshold for her cognitive functions to kick in. Her body and mind is in fight or flight (and freeze) mode, so there's not much space for thinking rationally other than the instinctive fighting back or freezing. 

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/threshold-levels/

I would start with some PRE-LAT exercises specifically "hear that"  using recording of dogs, dog tags etc.

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/pre-lat-look-behavior-modification/

Aim for a solid conditioned emotional response:

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/conditioned-emotional-response-cer/

Then, I would work on creating a super solid response to the smacking sound:

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

and  do Look at That exercises by the window watching dogs passing by:

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/university/look-at-that/

Then, once you get a solid conditioned emotional response to watching dogs calmly from a window, you can move to working in front of your home, making your smacking sound every time she spots a dog at a distance. 

You may find it helpful to do setups if you know a friend with a calm dog who you can direct to walking at a distance doing more look at that exercises and even open bar closed bar if your location allows it:

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/open-bar-closed-bar/

You may have to drive to places where you can find more space and have more control over the environment so to help set her up for success. 

Rather than dragging her away, which exerts pressure on her neck further creating negative feelings/associations if you're using a collar, it would be best to train her to turn with you on cue. Make it fun and upbeat and train it at a fluent level away from dogs, starting at home, then in the yard, then in front of the home, then at a distance from dogs. She should be responsive to you as long as you ask for it promptly at a distance she's less likely to react and use the right treats. 

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/emergency-u-turn/

It's very important to use super-duper high value treats that are smelly (or better stink to high heavens) so to grab her attention. For behavior modification, I like to use baked calf liver that I cut into small pieces. I know it's yucky to handle, but I use what works best. You may have do some trials on what she seems to like best. If you use stinky treats, you can even toss them in front of you, so to allow her to increase distance on her own accord. The tossing also makes it a fun game. Check with your vet on the ideal treats for her if she's prone to having a sensitive tummy. 

Letting her be over threshold too often (other than an occasional setback which may happen occasionally even with the most systematic plans) will only cause the behavior to exacerbate as the behavior puts roots more and more and stress hormones make her jumpier and easier to startle. 

You can ask the veterinary behaviorist if during the wait time, you she can do a brief consult over the phone and determine if anti-anxiety supplements or meds can help her in the meanwhile if it's too difficult to get her under threshold. 

There are some over the counter calming aids like DAP collars, calming caps,  treats with L-theanine, alpha-casozepine, but they may work only for mild cases of reactivity. 

When there it is great difficulty to walk a reactive dog because it's almost impossible to keep them under threshold, walking them may prove to be too stressful. For this reason, several dog behavior professionals may suggest to skip walks for these fellows (replacing them with training, lots of brain games, structured exercise in the yard) until help can be sought or to find places to walk when one can ascertain there are no dogs for the time being. 

Edited November 17, 2021 by Adrienne Farricelli

[AngieTorres]

Thank you! I really thought she’d throw a fit without her usual walk but we did training games outside for about 20 minutes then took a 5-10 minute walk to get her to poop and omg maybe it’s a coincidence but she was able to see a big dog from our steps and not completely freak!! She didn’t even bark she just stopped and stared which is huge! She did small barks at some passerby where our “backyard” is (I live in an apartment it’s basically grass and a bench with a fence to the street) but that’s the least foot traffic of all the areas near me. Then we’re playing some indoor fetch and tug (shes not ready to play outside yet, just doesn’t want to) to get out any extra energy. We’re going to try this routine for a few days while we work on the behavior modification towards sounds. 🙂

[JMFS]

Way to go!  I appreciate it when folks follow up with their results - it helps motivate the rest of us.  Keep up the great work!

[Adrienne Farricelli]

Sounds like you are doing a great job! Kudos to you for helping her stay under threshold. Keep up the great work, baby steps and lots of lots of positive associations!