1 month update

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Shalista
Posts: 1363
Joined: Tue Feb 17, 2015 10:04 pm

1 month update

Post by Shalista »

So it's been 1 month and we've made some progress and had some set backs.

He's still 100% potty trained

He sleeps through the night now.

He relaxes enough when im home to snooze on the futon.

BUT

he still growls, whines, and full on barks at the slightest thump from the neighbor downstairs. its def worse when he's hungry, ive learned that, so i'm sacrificing his waistline to keep him full. (diets can come once he's settled). so far every time theres a thump i call him to me and give him a treat. im hoping he'll learn thumps = treats but i can tell he keeps getting stuck in this high alert mode post thump which makes him EXTRA alert when the second (and third...and fourth) thump occurs and i'm having trouble winding him down. thoughts?

(also @Lotsaquestions, can you link that wobble/treat tower youve been using with your pup? i'm looking for more food dispensers)
Baxter (AKA Bax, Chuckles, Chuckster) Rat Terrier, born 01/16/13
Lotsaquestions
Posts: 646
Joined: Wed Aug 23, 2017 6:06 am

Re: 1 month update

Post by Lotsaquestions »

Sure! https://tug-e-nuff.co.uk/products/treat-tower Thats the UK shop I got it from, I can only assume it'll be called the same thing in the US.

Having a hyper alert dog myself I have found that treating when there is noise didn't work so well, but talking really silly and happy when there is a noise then playing or treating worked better. Like maybe if Bax heard a thump you just went 'oh what a silly bumpy wumpy! Wasn't that a funny joke?' and when he's all waggy tailed and 'over it' play a little game or toss a few treats. So far it works for basically everything with Merlin, even if he's looking at something suspicious outside because a) you can't look or sound tense when you're talking like a cutesy wutsey idiot, b) your dog has no choice but to instantly focus on the lunatic who is making silly fun noises which helps snap them out of the alert mode, c) they figure out very quickly that when owner makes idiot noises free treats fall from the sky and nothing bad happens.

Note: it doesn't work when he's excited about something, so don't try it if Bax is pulling and barking because he really, really wants to go over and play. It backfires pretty badly. :roll: It went something like this; Merlin: woof woof I want to meet the dog. Me: Oh you want to see the silly dog? Merlin: YES YES YES YES WOOF WOOF WOOF OMG OMG OMG. Me: dragging lunatic dog away.
Shalista
Posts: 1363
Joined: Tue Feb 17, 2015 10:04 pm

Re: 1 month update

Post by Shalista »

good point ill have to try it out! (thx for the link!)

and yeah bax acts like a lunatic on the leash to try to EAT whatever is over there be it a person or another dog. i have a become a master of the "OH ****" turn and walk away. :?
Baxter (AKA Bax, Chuckles, Chuckster) Rat Terrier, born 01/16/13
Lotsaquestions
Posts: 646
Joined: Wed Aug 23, 2017 6:06 am

Re: 1 month update

Post by Lotsaquestions »

Poor Bax :( Sometimes I wish you could just talk doggy language for a day and tell them life really isn't that big of a deal!

Well for Merlin if another dog is having a go at him on a lead he can get a bit worried (and I expect Bax reacts because of fear?), so the talking crazily works there in conjuction with walking away. It stops Merlin looking back or lingering on the scaryness of it too long so he recovers quicker, and stops me from getting tense and worried myself.

Also if I see the trigger up ahead (builders on a roof sets Merlin off, he thinks people definately belong on the ground) then talking silly about them (oh aren't they silly up there? What do you think they are doing? etc:) before he has a chance react along with taking him a comfortable distance away really, really helps him. He'll still look at the trigger every now and then while I'm talking funny, but he isn't focussed on it. It stops being worry and starts being curiosity. I find with Merlin that his reaction boils up, so if he is staring at something a little too long then I know he might react with either excitement or fear, I just then look at the trigger myself and act accordingly. If I can break his attention before the anticipation gets too much then it resets him in a way and helps him deal with it. And if he stops staring at the trigger himself without my intervention he gets a jackpot of treats (even if he just turns away to sniff a wall).

There is probably a less insane way to do it, but I can only recommend talking like a crazy person. Another lady on my group walk does the same with her sensitive and fearful Lab, and the Lab now when seeing something scary will look to her before reacting and if the lady is telling the Lab 'oh its just a silly joke!' the Lab then totally relaxes.
Shalista
Posts: 1363
Joined: Tue Feb 17, 2015 10:04 pm

Re: 1 month update

Post by Shalista »

ill have to try that!

unfortunately 9/10 we get jumped and they're just way to close =( i'm usually just taking him out for a quick potty and one of my neighbors comes around the corner or steps outside. 3 times now we've gone out to potty and theres the neighbors pug LITERALLY lifting a leg next to our steps.

hes gone from NEVER seeing anyone outside of the family to suddenly haveing strangers everywhere he looks. i dont blame him for loseing his precious few marbles.
Baxter (AKA Bax, Chuckles, Chuckster) Rat Terrier, born 01/16/13
JudyN
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Re: 1 month update

Post by JudyN »

Shalista wrote: Fri Nov 10, 2017 5:57 pmso far every time theres a thump i call him to me and give him a treat.
Just a thought - when you call him, he'll be thinking 'Oh, WHAT?? Not now, there's thumping going on!' We all get irritated if someone distracts us when we're a bit stressed. However, if a treat were to magically appear (i.e. you throw it or, if his waistline can handle it, throw a few), there's nothing to get irritated about - there's just magic food.

In general, if Jasper gets fixated on something like a cat, or a bit of discarded food just out of reach, or a dog he's eyeballing, I find it works better if I just wait him out, hanging on to the lead, so he eventually realises he has tomake a choice between standing there all day or going where I want to go. If he makes he decision himself, he's not going to throw a tantrum at being dragged away. The fact that he's too big to be easily draggable has helped in developing this technique, of course :lol:

I totally agree with modelling the reaction you want with your tone of voice. If another dog barks at Jasper, I say 'Well, he's a silly dog,' and nowadays Jasper tends to agree with me and totally ignore it.
Jasper, lurcher, born December 2009
Shalista
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Joined: Tue Feb 17, 2015 10:04 pm

Re: 1 month update

Post by Shalista »

I find it works better if I just wait him out, hanging on to the lead, so he eventually realises he has tomake a choice between standing there all day or going where I want to go. If he makes he decision himself, he's not going to throw a tantrum at being dragged away.
really? :shock: ive been working off of the "turn and walk(or drag) away" method. or is that supposed to only work if you catch them BEFORE they kick off?

EDIT: also ive been cited for a noise complaint allready so i cant realy stand there while he yodels
Baxter (AKA Bax, Chuckles, Chuckster) Rat Terrier, born 01/16/13
JudyN
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Re: 1 month update

Post by JudyN »

For me, it definitely works better if Jasper can think it through for himself. But lurchers are poachers' dogs, so not prone to barking, and he tends to think first before throwing a wobbly - ' I can't do anything about it so I might just as well carry on with my walk.' Bax is pure terrier and more aroused in general so I guess it's bark first, think later. So it might be worth trying sometime if you get the opportunity to do it without upsetting the neighbours, but in your situation, heading in the other direction may be the best option.

I'd definitely try throwing treats for the noises in the flat though. I used to struggle to cajole & bribe J to get him into the car, but once I stopped cajoling him and just put a treat in the car and waited... and waited... for him to get in, he soon began straight away, presumably because he associated the treat with the car rather than me and the pressure was off. At the moment Bax may be associating the treats with you rather than with the noises.
Jasper, lurcher, born December 2009
Shalista
Posts: 1363
Joined: Tue Feb 17, 2015 10:04 pm

Re: 1 month update

Post by Shalista »

JudyN wrote: Sun Nov 12, 2017 2:45 am Bax is pure terrier and more aroused in general so I guess it's bark first, think later.
i think you just summarized bax's existence :lol: :roll:

and ill try treat flinging. its difficult cause once he starts rumpassing hes not super interested in food :(
Baxter (AKA Bax, Chuckles, Chuckster) Rat Terrier, born 01/16/13
Shalista
Posts: 1363
Joined: Tue Feb 17, 2015 10:04 pm

Re: 1 month update

Post by Shalista »

poor bax, at 4 years old hes practically middle aged but hes perfected the teen age eye roll as i act like a lunatic every time theres a noise. hes sooooo over this. :roll: :wink:
Baxter (AKA Bax, Chuckles, Chuckster) Rat Terrier, born 01/16/13
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