Hi all,
We have a 5 month old puppy who gets hugely over excited when he sees other dogs, whether on or off leash. Following a couple of training sessions with a knowledgeable trainer I've been working hard at the local park to desensitise him to other dogs. I can usually find a spot in the middle of the park where I can keep far enough away from other dogs to avoid him going over threshold.
My problem is that when entering and leaving the park we inevitably get too close to other dogs meaning that we rarely start or end a session without him going over threshold. He recovers very quickly from these encounters and when the other dog is out of sight I click him for sitting and looking at me for a few seconds until he is calm.
My questions are:-
Are these encounters at the beginning and end of a session ruining all the work I do in the middle?
Does it matter if he has a couple of over threshold experiences during a session, if he has lots of good ones as well ?
Should I be avoiding getting too close to dogs and causing a reaction at all costs, even if this means reducing the number of non reactive sightings ?
Many thanks for your thoughts
Counter Conditioning/Desensitisation question
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Re: Counter Conditioning/Desensitisation question
Is the reactions your puppy is having towards other dogs fear based? if not, counter conditioning and desensitization are going to be counter productive. if your dog is happy to see other dogs, but has poor impulse control and due to not being able to rush over and say hi is developing frustration, those are different problems with different solutions. trying to counter condition and desensitize will actually only make it worse. which isn't to say you should let your puppy run up to other dogs unrestrained and like a tornado, that is a good way to meet the wrong dog, have a horrible encounter and create a fearful puppy.
So it is important to have some idea why your puppy is reactive towards other dogs. fear is but on possibility, but not the only one. OVERLY happy to see and greatly desiring to play with another dog is another. I raise the question due to the age of your dog. It is absolutely possible to have a fearful 5 month old, but it also possible to just have poor impulse control and a happy dog that is getting frustrated.
if you have 10 really good "encounters", and 2 bad ones, the 10 might "overshadow" the good. but not always, you could have 10 really good "encounters", but 1 where it was horrible, intense, super scary and wipe out all the work form the last week, not just the 10 good encounters for today.
The goal should always be "no unwanted reaction", but life happens and that is NOT always possible. So you do the best you can and take as much precaution as possible to prevent unwanted reactions to other dogs. Which could mean finding a new place. if entering and exiting the park has such a high probability of putting your dog over threshold, one solution is to find another place. the other is to maybe adjust the time you go to that park.
but again, without knowing if your dealing with fear or impulse control issues (both can manifest similar "reactive" behavior on leash) it is difficult to advise beyond both issues you do want to avoid practicing the unwanted behavior (aka staying sub threshold) as much as possible and any over threshold is technically a set back to some degree.
So it is important to have some idea why your puppy is reactive towards other dogs. fear is but on possibility, but not the only one. OVERLY happy to see and greatly desiring to play with another dog is another. I raise the question due to the age of your dog. It is absolutely possible to have a fearful 5 month old, but it also possible to just have poor impulse control and a happy dog that is getting frustrated.
The encounters at the beginning and end can affect all the rest of your work. to what degree? that depends on a whole lot of factors. But the bottom line is anytime a dog gets to practice the unwanted behavior it's a set back of some degree. The same goes for question #2.robrauy wrote: My questions are:-
1. Are these encounters at the beginning and end of a session ruining all the work I do in the middle?
2. Does it matter if he has a couple of over threshold experiences during a session, if he has lots of good ones as well ?
3. Should I be avoiding getting too close to dogs and causing a reaction at all costs, even if this means reducing the number of non reactive sightings ?
if you have 10 really good "encounters", and 2 bad ones, the 10 might "overshadow" the good. but not always, you could have 10 really good "encounters", but 1 where it was horrible, intense, super scary and wipe out all the work form the last week, not just the 10 good encounters for today.
The goal should always be "no unwanted reaction", but life happens and that is NOT always possible. So you do the best you can and take as much precaution as possible to prevent unwanted reactions to other dogs. Which could mean finding a new place. if entering and exiting the park has such a high probability of putting your dog over threshold, one solution is to find another place. the other is to maybe adjust the time you go to that park.
but again, without knowing if your dealing with fear or impulse control issues (both can manifest similar "reactive" behavior on leash) it is difficult to advise beyond both issues you do want to avoid practicing the unwanted behavior (aka staying sub threshold) as much as possible and any over threshold is technically a set back to some degree.
Re: Counter Conditioning/Desensitisation question
Thanks for the reply. I have been wondering whether his reaction to dogs is fear or impulse control.
We've had him since he was 8 weeks old and he was thoroughly socialised, though being our first dog we made some mistakes along the way. I can remember one occasion when he was around 3 months old where he was snapped at by a dog and came running back to me obviously scared.
He also had some dental issues that we discovered would have been causing him some pain for some time, and required extractions.
At around 4 months old we began to notice signs of stress when he was out on our high street, and also in the park. He would occasionally go over threshold and circle me growling and nipping my ankles, and started to react to many people, things and other dogs.
He has always been good at home - Obedient and with good impulse control and is good with visitors including noisy youngsters
Since then with lots of work he walks nicely on a loose leash on busy streets with little or no reaction other than to other dogs. The growling and nipping at me has all but stopped.
With other dogs he is still very reactive though. If off leash he'll charge up to any dog barking like crazy, then do a quiet greet which lasts a few seconds, then goes back to barking, growling, posturing at the other dog. After a short while he usually calms down, and has never shown any signs of actually attacking another dog. On leash he'll bark and pull like crazy if he spots another dog at anything under around 30 feet away.
I had assumed that Counter conditioning and desensitisation was the way forward, but would love to hear any ideas as to what would work better both on leash and off.
We've had him since he was 8 weeks old and he was thoroughly socialised, though being our first dog we made some mistakes along the way. I can remember one occasion when he was around 3 months old where he was snapped at by a dog and came running back to me obviously scared.
He also had some dental issues that we discovered would have been causing him some pain for some time, and required extractions.
At around 4 months old we began to notice signs of stress when he was out on our high street, and also in the park. He would occasionally go over threshold and circle me growling and nipping my ankles, and started to react to many people, things and other dogs.
He has always been good at home - Obedient and with good impulse control and is good with visitors including noisy youngsters
Since then with lots of work he walks nicely on a loose leash on busy streets with little or no reaction other than to other dogs. The growling and nipping at me has all but stopped.
With other dogs he is still very reactive though. If off leash he'll charge up to any dog barking like crazy, then do a quiet greet which lasts a few seconds, then goes back to barking, growling, posturing at the other dog. After a short while he usually calms down, and has never shown any signs of actually attacking another dog. On leash he'll bark and pull like crazy if he spots another dog at anything under around 30 feet away.
I had assumed that Counter conditioning and desensitisation was the way forward, but would love to hear any ideas as to what would work better both on leash and off.
Re: Counter Conditioning/Desensitisation question
I would say stick with the Counter Conditioning and Desensitization.
Remember to wait for your dog to indicate seeing the other dog than your dog, wait a second or two, then provide the "treat". it is ok to still give the treat if your dog displays mild reaction to the other dog. BUT, that is a sign you were too close. the more your dog reacts, the less effective this will be. goal is no reaction. but life happens and dogs will get close, just keep the ideal in mind, shoot for it, but don't beat your self up with things fall apart.
When things fall apart, call it a day, go for distance, whatever makes the most sense. Then take a break. let your dog settle down a day or two, restart over with more distance.
The ideal is...your dog indicates it sees scary dog, but scary dog is far enough away your dog at most goes on alert...you see your dog indicating it knows the other dog is there, you count "one thousand and one"...provide food to your dog.
That is the ideal, again do your best, and don't beat your self up when life happens and things are less than perfect.
When your dogs sees other dogs, then turns to you with a light and happy "air" about it with the expectation of food...."did you see other dog? Other dogs are cool because I get food when other dogs are around".... it will be time to make an adjustment. come back, we can talk more.
desensitization. not really a separate step, you simply have your dog around other dogs at safe distances...which you are already doing with the counter conditioning.
Don't over do things, sometimes 1 or 2 good "see dog, get food" situations is enough for a day or an outing. quality over quantity is key.
There is no benefit to your dog meeting and greeting unknown dogs or dogs that you are simply passing at this time. Don't feel like doing this will help, if your dog is reacting from fear it won't. meet and greet type setups if they become possible/reasonable next steps are like step 100 and you are at step 10 right now.
if your dog has doggie friends that he doesn't' react to, it's ok to continue playing and meeting up with them. keep an eye on things encase the situation changes.
right now the goal is simply to be able to see and pass dogs at safe but reasonable distances. start there.
feel free to ask any questions, to check in and let us know how things are going, good, bad or otherwise. sometimes it helps to share a bad day with people who get it. get advice on how to adjust a bit what your doing etc, etc.
Remember to wait for your dog to indicate seeing the other dog than your dog, wait a second or two, then provide the "treat". it is ok to still give the treat if your dog displays mild reaction to the other dog. BUT, that is a sign you were too close. the more your dog reacts, the less effective this will be. goal is no reaction. but life happens and dogs will get close, just keep the ideal in mind, shoot for it, but don't beat your self up with things fall apart.
When things fall apart, call it a day, go for distance, whatever makes the most sense. Then take a break. let your dog settle down a day or two, restart over with more distance.
The ideal is...your dog indicates it sees scary dog, but scary dog is far enough away your dog at most goes on alert...you see your dog indicating it knows the other dog is there, you count "one thousand and one"...provide food to your dog.
That is the ideal, again do your best, and don't beat your self up when life happens and things are less than perfect.
When your dogs sees other dogs, then turns to you with a light and happy "air" about it with the expectation of food...."did you see other dog? Other dogs are cool because I get food when other dogs are around".... it will be time to make an adjustment. come back, we can talk more.
desensitization. not really a separate step, you simply have your dog around other dogs at safe distances...which you are already doing with the counter conditioning.
Don't over do things, sometimes 1 or 2 good "see dog, get food" situations is enough for a day or an outing. quality over quantity is key.
There is no benefit to your dog meeting and greeting unknown dogs or dogs that you are simply passing at this time. Don't feel like doing this will help, if your dog is reacting from fear it won't. meet and greet type setups if they become possible/reasonable next steps are like step 100 and you are at step 10 right now.
if your dog has doggie friends that he doesn't' react to, it's ok to continue playing and meeting up with them. keep an eye on things encase the situation changes.
right now the goal is simply to be able to see and pass dogs at safe but reasonable distances. start there.
feel free to ask any questions, to check in and let us know how things are going, good, bad or otherwise. sometimes it helps to share a bad day with people who get it. get advice on how to adjust a bit what your doing etc, etc.
Re: Counter Conditioning/Desensitisation question
Thanks very much for your reply, as well as the offer of future advice, it is really very kind.
I get the subtleties of the game much better now, I'm sure I have been going way too fast. ie:-
See target dog -> Bit too close -> give it a go anyway -> FAIL -> Find new target dog etc etc...
I adjusted my street walk this morning. 30 mins, couple of dogs spotted, lots avoided altogether and no reaction and it feels so much better. I think I may even avoid the park for a while until I work out a way of getting in/out without setting off a reaction.
Hopefully I'll be able to report back soon(ish) with a hint of success!
Thanks again..
I get the subtleties of the game much better now, I'm sure I have been going way too fast. ie:-
See target dog -> Bit too close -> give it a go anyway -> FAIL -> Find new target dog etc etc...
I adjusted my street walk this morning. 30 mins, couple of dogs spotted, lots avoided altogether and no reaction and it feels so much better. I think I may even avoid the park for a while until I work out a way of getting in/out without setting off a reaction.
Hopefully I'll be able to report back soon(ish) with a hint of success!
Thanks again..
Re: Counter Conditioning/Desensitisation question
excellent choices and adjustments. back when I was at the beginning stage with my dog, I started with 1 week of NO dogs at all. I did my best to make sure he wasn't even aware or at least at the greatest distance possible so he wouldn't care that dogs were around. Then, I started moving a bit closer one day, did the Counter Conditioning work, then the next day we took a break etc. even success can be stressful and breaks help.robrauy wrote:I adjusted my street walk this morning. 30 mins, couple of dogs spotted, lots avoided altogether and no reaction and it feels so much better. I think I may even avoid the park for a while until I work out a way of getting in/out without setting off a reaction.
Hopefully I'll be able to report back soon(ish) with a hint of success!
Thanks again..
There is honestly no reason to rush this and it's NOT avoiding the problem when you take breaks.
Passing 1 dog no reaction IS a HUGE success at this point and there is NOTHING wrong with protecting that success by "calling it a day" and for the rest of the day or for a few hours avoiding dogs if you feel that is best. avoid the temptation to get just one more success...hard, I made this mistake, but if you can avoid it, that is better than pushing for one more success only to find out that it was "one too many" attempts and your dog has a melt down.
Re: Counter Conditioning/Desensitisation question
Well it's been up and done on the reactivity front recently, and I had been feeling that we were getting nowhere, then over the last couple of days I started noticing a little progress. When we've started working with another dog and I've given my dog a first bit of food, he's started looking at me for more! I give him some, he looks back at the other dog, then back at me for another food hit.
I purposefully haven't tried to reduce our working distance as I want to consolidate what we have, but then today in the park I got trapped - Dog coming towards us, I look back to see one right behind. So I speed up, ask him to look at me, feed him food and before I know it they're quietly greeting each other. I counted to 5, then gave him a bit of a tug (luckily he has a nice padded harness!) to move off quickly. The other dog followed, and I had to pretty much drag mine away, which didn't feel great, but we eventually moved off without so much as a bark.
I hated physically pulling him away, but I really wanted to bail without giving him the opportunity to react. As soon as we were safe, he got a hotdog and cheese jackpot! Hopefully signs that we're moving in the right direction !
I purposefully haven't tried to reduce our working distance as I want to consolidate what we have, but then today in the park I got trapped - Dog coming towards us, I look back to see one right behind. So I speed up, ask him to look at me, feed him food and before I know it they're quietly greeting each other. I counted to 5, then gave him a bit of a tug (luckily he has a nice padded harness!) to move off quickly. The other dog followed, and I had to pretty much drag mine away, which didn't feel great, but we eventually moved off without so much as a bark.
I hated physically pulling him away, but I really wanted to bail without giving him the opportunity to react. As soon as we were safe, he got a hotdog and cheese jackpot! Hopefully signs that we're moving in the right direction !
Re: Counter Conditioning/Desensitisation question
the feeling of no progress or two steps forward, 1 back... that is NORMAL. And I am SOOO glade you have gotten to see that sometimes it is a "storm" before the calm and that you really are making progress.robrauy wrote:Well it's been up and done on the reactivity front recently, and I had been feeling that we were getting nowhere, then over the last couple of days I started noticing a little progress. When we've started working with another dog and I've given my dog a first bit of food, he's started looking at me for more! I give him some, he looks back at the other dog, then back at me for another food hit.
wise, very wiserobrauy wrote:I purposefully haven't tried to reduce our working distance as I want to consolidate what we have
YEP, also normal. Life happens. You did the best you could, made the most of a bad situation. don't beat your self up about it.robrauy wrote:then today in the park I got trapped - Dog coming towards us, I look back to see one right behind. So I speed up, ask him to look at me, feed him food and before I know it they're quietly greeting each other. I counted to 5, then gave him a bit of a tug (luckily he has a nice padded harness!) to move off quickly. The other dog followed, and I had to pretty much drag mine away, which didn't feel great, but we eventually moved off without so much as a bark.
I hated physically pulling him away, but I really wanted to bail without giving him the opportunity to react. As soon as we were safe, he got a hotdog and cheese jackpot! Hopefully signs that we're moving in the right direction !
sounds like you are making progress, good for you. keep it up and don't hesitate to ask questions, or even just update us how things are going.
Re: Counter Conditioning/Desensitisation question
Thought I'd post a quick update. We've made great progress since my original post. Thanks jacksdad for your advice, it really did help me formulate a plan, and also gave me the confidence to follow it through.
Counter conditioning actually works! This week we've been passing dogs on the same side of the road albeit with plenty of watches and treat shovelling - The only reaction being a soft whimper which stops as soon as we pass.
An interesting side effect is that my dog's off lead behaviour has improved hugely. Before we started this process he would charge off as soon as he saw a dog, barking and growling as he went. I had him on a long line as I couldn't rely on his behaviour, and his recall was terrible. I now have him off lead confidently.
We had one setback this week. We were in an empty tennis court at our local park practising sits and stays at a distance. There is a path around the tennis courts and there was a steady procession of dogs along the path. My dog wasn't happy to have a fence between him and the dogs and became very agitated growling and barking through the fence. I went to fetch him - He was way over threshold and jumped up at me growling and nipping my legs. Not very nice.. He settled quickly, but was noticeably mouthy for the rest of the afternoon. I'll face this head on next week!
Counter conditioning actually works! This week we've been passing dogs on the same side of the road albeit with plenty of watches and treat shovelling - The only reaction being a soft whimper which stops as soon as we pass.
An interesting side effect is that my dog's off lead behaviour has improved hugely. Before we started this process he would charge off as soon as he saw a dog, barking and growling as he went. I had him on a long line as I couldn't rely on his behaviour, and his recall was terrible. I now have him off lead confidently.
We had one setback this week. We were in an empty tennis court at our local park practising sits and stays at a distance. There is a path around the tennis courts and there was a steady procession of dogs along the path. My dog wasn't happy to have a fence between him and the dogs and became very agitated growling and barking through the fence. I went to fetch him - He was way over threshold and jumped up at me growling and nipping my legs. Not very nice.. He settled quickly, but was noticeably mouthy for the rest of the afternoon. I'll face this head on next week!
Re: Counter Conditioning/Desensitisation question
First off, well done on your progress. 
Next, revisit the last scene in your imagination. You all unknowingly (because you are still in the early stages of learning to Think Dog) set him up for failure by trying to make him immobile/obey commands while HE felt he was in danger.
So, rather than
You put him at the farthest point of the side that other dogs come down, stand between his line of sight and one dog/group of dogs, reward him and leave. Next time you do this with two dogs. If he stresses, won't take food or ignores you, you are going too fast, so back to one dog. Only when he is completely at ease do you revisit giving him commands in that place. Keep that short as well - just one - leave. Build on this slowly.
For the future, never ask a dog to sit/stay/down when he is likely to be afraid or reactive. It loses trust between you.
I'm sure a lot of people who read and never post will be interested in this so well done for raising it.
Next, revisit the last scene in your imagination. You all unknowingly (because you are still in the early stages of learning to Think Dog) set him up for failure by trying to make him immobile/obey commands while HE felt he was in danger.
So, rather than
you do the opposite because that way he will feel safe and therefore trust you. We don't trust if we are put in scary situations.robrauy wrote:I'll face this head on next week!
You put him at the farthest point of the side that other dogs come down, stand between his line of sight and one dog/group of dogs, reward him and leave. Next time you do this with two dogs. If he stresses, won't take food or ignores you, you are going too fast, so back to one dog. Only when he is completely at ease do you revisit giving him commands in that place. Keep that short as well - just one - leave. Build on this slowly.
For the future, never ask a dog to sit/stay/down when he is likely to be afraid or reactive. It loses trust between you.
I'm sure a lot of people who read and never post will be interested in this so well done for raising it.
A dog is never bad or naughty - it is simply being a dog
SET YOURSELF UP FOR SUCCESS
SET YOURSELF UP FOR SUCCESS
Re: Counter Conditioning/Desensitisation question
I just want to say thanks for posting an update. 
We're doing counter conditioning and desensitisation with our dog-reactive Australian Cattle Dog at the moment too. I know it's going to take us a lot longer to get to the stage that you're at (though we're getting there slowly!), but it's really, really encouraging to hear the great progress you've made with your pup. Well done!
We're doing counter conditioning and desensitisation with our dog-reactive Australian Cattle Dog at the moment too. I know it's going to take us a lot longer to get to the stage that you're at (though we're getting there slowly!), but it's really, really encouraging to hear the great progress you've made with your pup. Well done!
Re: Counter Conditioning/Desensitisation question
Thanks for the replies.
Nettle, I still have so much to learn. I had dropped my guard having not had a strong reaction for a while and missed the signs. Brought me back to earth with a bump! Thanks for the tips, I'll start practising next week (By facing the problem head on, I only meant that I wasn't going to ignore it by not visiting the same spot again). Really interesting about the sit making dogs feel more vulnerable - I definitely need to bear this in mind...
Also, I find it really interesting that having a fence between him and other dogs actually makes him feel more vulnerable. I suppose not being able to check the dog out owing to the fence is a bit like leash reactivity ?
We're going to back off for a few days. In hindsight I've been pushing things a little, and he's been starting to show signs of stress at home (ie mouthing and tail chasing) so we'll do a few days of on lead walks away from dogs, joggers etc..
JillyD, thanks and good luck - Look forward to your next update!
Nettle, I still have so much to learn. I had dropped my guard having not had a strong reaction for a while and missed the signs. Brought me back to earth with a bump! Thanks for the tips, I'll start practising next week (By facing the problem head on, I only meant that I wasn't going to ignore it by not visiting the same spot again). Really interesting about the sit making dogs feel more vulnerable - I definitely need to bear this in mind...
Also, I find it really interesting that having a fence between him and other dogs actually makes him feel more vulnerable. I suppose not being able to check the dog out owing to the fence is a bit like leash reactivity ?
We're going to back off for a few days. In hindsight I've been pushing things a little, and he's been starting to show signs of stress at home (ie mouthing and tail chasing) so we'll do a few days of on lead walks away from dogs, joggers etc..
JillyD, thanks and good luck - Look forward to your next update!
Re: Counter Conditioning/Desensitisation question
Sorry I haven't explained properly.
Having your dog against the fence next to where the other dogs pass makes him feel vulnerable. If you go to the furthest point away from that fence, which is the other side of the area you are walking in, and have him on the far side of your body, then he feels protected because he has distance and your body between him and them. Hope that makes sense - if not, ask again.
Having your dog against the fence next to where the other dogs pass makes him feel vulnerable. If you go to the furthest point away from that fence, which is the other side of the area you are walking in, and have him on the far side of your body, then he feels protected because he has distance and your body between him and them.
Hope that makes sense - if not, ask again.A dog is never bad or naughty - it is simply being a dog
SET YOURSELF UP FOR SUCCESS
SET YOURSELF UP FOR SUCCESS
Re: Counter Conditioning/Desensitisation question
Thought it was time for an update.
We seem to be right back where we started - I'm devastated! I noticed a slight increase in general reactivity a couple of weeks ago, and sadly this seems to have continued. We were getting to the stage where we could pass most dogs. My dog would still often scrabble a little towards the other dog as we passed, but this was manageable. Now we are back to squealing and yelling at dogs on the other side of the street. In fact the greater the distance, the more reactivity it would seem, as he knows he has no chance of reaching the other dog to greet, and his frustration escalates very quickly. His off lead behaviour has never been better, and he is settling down so well, it's such a shame!
Not really sure what to do other than start from scratch...
We seem to be right back where we started - I'm devastated! I noticed a slight increase in general reactivity a couple of weeks ago, and sadly this seems to have continued. We were getting to the stage where we could pass most dogs. My dog would still often scrabble a little towards the other dog as we passed, but this was manageable. Now we are back to squealing and yelling at dogs on the other side of the street. In fact the greater the distance, the more reactivity it would seem, as he knows he has no chance of reaching the other dog to greet, and his frustration escalates very quickly. His off lead behaviour has never been better, and he is settling down so well, it's such a shame!
Not really sure what to do other than start from scratch...
Re: Counter Conditioning/Desensitisation question
It is actually normal and expected that progress isn't a strait line towards success.
I would recommend the following.
Take a break. just a couple days, maybe a week. whatever you can manage. no other dogs. this will help your dog. But it will help you too. it takes a lot of engery, effort, focus etc to help our dogs move forward, backwards steps no matter how natural/normal to the process is HIGHLY frustrating and that frustration can affect our dogs. so, take a break. go places there are no dogs, or take your walks at times there is low risk of a dog. just a couple days, maybe a week.
While your taking your break, review both your process and the incidents you feel are good examples of sliding backwards.
this is important because you NEED to remind your self of successes and progress. Because it is undoubtedly there and it is way to easy to get focused on the "backwards slides" and setback no matter how small they maybe.
you need to ask questions like...
did I push to fast for progress
did I start getting lax due to progress
was I miss reading my dog, frustration, not fear
if fear, did I under estimate the level of fear. as in dog is more afraid than I thought. sometimes progress reveals this and your set backs really aren't set backs
was I giving enough small breaks from the training, even success can be stressful and pushing for just a little more or working every day can cause set backs and slow the process up
if your dog is fearful, is maybe the "set backs" actually a new fear. for example my dog. briefly I thought we were going backwards with his dog/dog fear issues, turns out he was making progress with dogs, but now his fear of humans was greater than his fear of dog. what I thought was set backs and him barking at dogs was actually him ignoring dogs and barking at the human with the dog.
I am sure there are other questions. just get rerun some incidents in your mind, "look" for mistakes, "look" for something you hadn't noticed before, such as a "new" fear etc.
feel free to bounce questions, thoughts etc off us.
I would recommend the following.
Take a break. just a couple days, maybe a week. whatever you can manage. no other dogs. this will help your dog. But it will help you too. it takes a lot of engery, effort, focus etc to help our dogs move forward, backwards steps no matter how natural/normal to the process is HIGHLY frustrating and that frustration can affect our dogs. so, take a break. go places there are no dogs, or take your walks at times there is low risk of a dog. just a couple days, maybe a week.
While your taking your break, review both your process and the incidents you feel are good examples of sliding backwards.
this is important because you NEED to remind your self of successes and progress. Because it is undoubtedly there and it is way to easy to get focused on the "backwards slides" and setback no matter how small they maybe.
you need to ask questions like...
did I push to fast for progress
did I start getting lax due to progress
was I miss reading my dog, frustration, not fear
if fear, did I under estimate the level of fear. as in dog is more afraid than I thought. sometimes progress reveals this and your set backs really aren't set backs
was I giving enough small breaks from the training, even success can be stressful and pushing for just a little more or working every day can cause set backs and slow the process up
if your dog is fearful, is maybe the "set backs" actually a new fear. for example my dog. briefly I thought we were going backwards with his dog/dog fear issues, turns out he was making progress with dogs, but now his fear of humans was greater than his fear of dog. what I thought was set backs and him barking at dogs was actually him ignoring dogs and barking at the human with the dog.
I am sure there are other questions. just get rerun some incidents in your mind, "look" for mistakes, "look" for something you hadn't noticed before, such as a "new" fear etc.
feel free to bounce questions, thoughts etc off us.
