Yep - they don't display normal body language.
Aggressive behaviour is 'expensive' and not something animals use lightly and even with terriers who we have bred to use aggression much more readily than other dogs, you would expect to see warning signs, even if only briefly.
IF what I have been told is correct, B is launching at people biting a level 2 bite (teeth touch skin, leave a red mark or scrapes or bruising), and he is doing so several times in a row, with no apparent warning, though bending over him and reaching out to him appears to be a trigger.
I am going to watch someone get him out of his kennel today and see what goes on as I will have a much better idea if I see his body language around this particular 'flashpoint'.
He doesn't appear to hold a grudge though, and I have seen him being cuddly and initiating physical contact from one of the people he has previously bitten - so I think he is a mixed up dog, hes misinterpreting peoples movements and associating them with events that happened in his past, and for some reason he won't warn first. That reason is most likely, a human has taught him not to.
I am now training dogs at a rescue!
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Re: I am now training dogs at a rescue!
West Midlands based 1-2-1 Training & Behaviour Canine Consultant
Re: I am now training dogs at a rescue!
Day 2 update!
T - picked up the free shaping where we left off, this boy is a genius! We moved from front paws in or on the box to rear paws in todays session and again he didn't get barky when frustrated, though toward the end of the session he got quite bouncy (and managed to crack me under the chin with his hard hard head!
No fear issues at all today (the ones on saturday were only extremely minor), he knew who I was and what it all meant straight away. Today we worked a lot of the session with his dog walker in the room, and also there were men around testing the smoke alarms so a lot of high pitched noise going on, but none of this slowed T down and he carried on offering me behaviours even though I was talking to the other lady at the same time.
Hopefully tomorrow and Wednesday I will introduce some new things, particularly I want to take him into reception and work on his behaviour around furniture and greeting people.
B - Better today, I think a lot of his stressy/can't concentrate behaviour is him and his age and his breed rather than a thing caused purely by his environment. Still wary, not comfortable with me moving my hand over his head to lure a sit, he turned his head sideways to keep track of my hand, and walked back, but we did get a few sits.
He isn't particularly picking up clicker work so we will leave that in future - He DID do better iwth the nina ottoson toy today, much faster and using his paws as well as his nose - last time he just used his nose.
He initiated contact much more today and seemed more interested in me and my food as well. I sat down lower (on the edge of the shower tray its really a grooming room!) to be nearer his level and he seemed happier with that than with me sat in a proper chair and leaning over him. He is smart, but very wary of trying new behaviours - he tried to climb in my lap for scritches a few times but his main aim was to get on my shoulder and onto the window sill to get at the pot of treats!
Going to put his lead on after the session, i stood up and leaned down and again he was immediately much less comfortable and confident, wiggling away and offering me his belly a lot. We got his lead on with no issues but he was definitely uncomfortable in that context.
New dogs for me today were J and D.
J is a collie type, possibly some lab somewhere there, as he is a thick set hefty old boy. He had a half hearted attempt at the puzzle toy, he liked the treats but he wasn't overly interested in working for them (though threw some paws at me a bit and sat nicely). He is not anxious or nervous and he has good self control, he just wants to be with someone most of the time and do whatever they are doing.
D is a daft girl - shes a low slung bulldoggy x type, not as broad or short in the face as the KC standard type but not long enough in the leg for the American type. Shes a big daft lump, very strong and has little spatial awareness, and not overly aware of peoples personal space, but there isn't an ounce of malice in her.
We did try some training but she isn't food motivated and didnt really see the point, preferring to snort around and go lie down.; We tried the nina ottoson toy with her and after a few half hearted shoves with her snout and a lot of s norting she uncovered two bits of food and found it too hard so went to sleep. Bless her, again shes someone who wants to be with her people and snortle about and not do a lot of thinking if at all possible. She could be more motivated to do mental exercise in a home situation but only to teach the basics of living in someones house, shes adorable with her big smooshy face, but she's no canine einstein!
T - picked up the free shaping where we left off, this boy is a genius! We moved from front paws in or on the box to rear paws in todays session and again he didn't get barky when frustrated, though toward the end of the session he got quite bouncy (and managed to crack me under the chin with his hard hard head!
No fear issues at all today (the ones on saturday were only extremely minor), he knew who I was and what it all meant straight away. Today we worked a lot of the session with his dog walker in the room, and also there were men around testing the smoke alarms so a lot of high pitched noise going on, but none of this slowed T down and he carried on offering me behaviours even though I was talking to the other lady at the same time.
Hopefully tomorrow and Wednesday I will introduce some new things, particularly I want to take him into reception and work on his behaviour around furniture and greeting people.
B - Better today, I think a lot of his stressy/can't concentrate behaviour is him and his age and his breed rather than a thing caused purely by his environment. Still wary, not comfortable with me moving my hand over his head to lure a sit, he turned his head sideways to keep track of my hand, and walked back, but we did get a few sits.
He isn't particularly picking up clicker work so we will leave that in future - He DID do better iwth the nina ottoson toy today, much faster and using his paws as well as his nose - last time he just used his nose.
He initiated contact much more today and seemed more interested in me and my food as well. I sat down lower (on the edge of the shower tray its really a grooming room!) to be nearer his level and he seemed happier with that than with me sat in a proper chair and leaning over him. He is smart, but very wary of trying new behaviours - he tried to climb in my lap for scritches a few times but his main aim was to get on my shoulder and onto the window sill to get at the pot of treats!
Going to put his lead on after the session, i stood up and leaned down and again he was immediately much less comfortable and confident, wiggling away and offering me his belly a lot. We got his lead on with no issues but he was definitely uncomfortable in that context.
New dogs for me today were J and D.
J is a collie type, possibly some lab somewhere there, as he is a thick set hefty old boy. He had a half hearted attempt at the puzzle toy, he liked the treats but he wasn't overly interested in working for them (though threw some paws at me a bit and sat nicely). He is not anxious or nervous and he has good self control, he just wants to be with someone most of the time and do whatever they are doing.
D is a daft girl - shes a low slung bulldoggy x type, not as broad or short in the face as the KC standard type but not long enough in the leg for the American type. Shes a big daft lump, very strong and has little spatial awareness, and not overly aware of peoples personal space, but there isn't an ounce of malice in her.
We did try some training but she isn't food motivated and didnt really see the point, preferring to snort around and go lie down.; We tried the nina ottoson toy with her and after a few half hearted shoves with her snout and a lot of s norting she uncovered two bits of food and found it too hard so went to sleep. Bless her, again shes someone who wants to be with her people and snortle about and not do a lot of thinking if at all possible. She could be more motivated to do mental exercise in a home situation but only to teach the basics of living in someones house, shes adorable with her big smooshy face, but she's no canine einstein!
West Midlands based 1-2-1 Training & Behaviour Canine Consultant
Re: I am now training dogs at a rescue!
Thank you both bendog and emmabeth for your responsesemmabeth wrote:Yep - they don't display normal body language.
Aggressive behaviour is 'expensive' and not something animals use lightly and even with terriers who we have bred to use aggression much more readily than other dogs, you would expect to see warning signs, even if only briefly.
IF what I have been told is correct, B is launching at people biting a level 2 bite (teeth touch skin, leave a red mark or scrapes or bruising), and he is doing so several times in a row, with no apparent warning, though bending over him and reaching out to him appears to be a trigger.
I am going to watch someone get him out of his kennel today and see what goes on as I will have a much better idea if I see his body language around this particular 'flashpoint'.
He doesn't appear to hold a grudge though, and I have seen him being cuddly and initiating physical contact from one of the people he has previously bitten - so I think he is a mixed up dog, hes misinterpreting peoples movements and associating them with events that happened in his past, and for some reason he won't warn first. That reason is most likely, a human has taught him not to.
Re: I am now training dogs at a rescue!
Day three - short session with V, an older staffy type - like T he is quick to learn and eager to please. Unlike T he has little in the way of self control and also cannot take food nicely (nearly took my thumb off just because he isn't aware, nothing nasty about him).
Quickly picked up what a clicker means, super fast free shaping once he realised that mugging me didn't work.
Then onto T - its basically been T's day today.
First of all into the exercise pen to see how he reacts to other dogs outside the pen - T off leash at this point. Hmm.. frustrated and squealing and generally pretty hysterical - no way to tell if he wants to kill it or be friends with it.
The dog we used as the 'stooge' today is G, a Trailhound - for those unfamiliar with such beasts, picture a foxhound, but along racing lines - taller, slimmer, go faster.. They race individually along a trail, against loads of other dogs for many miles over country, over walls and ditches etc and are cheered home by their owners shouting and rattling food bowls. G is retired because he interferes with other dogs whilst racing (ie, knocking them off balance, barging around).
So anyway, we took G away to a greater distance and i went in with T and some fooooood (he likes me, I am the MAGICCHEESELADY!) and with just a small incraese in the distance, T could manage recalls, just removing his attention from G to me, and sits in return for delicious cheese. We brought G nearer and walked him up and down and again, wtih very little effort, T could be rewarded for seeing and not reacting, for complying with simple cues etc.
From there we decided to parallel walk and also offer T the chance to sniff G's butt without a head on confrontation - this also went really well and at one point T was walking nicely focussing on his handler and taking rewards when G was behind him and two other dogs were also just a few metres away.
Back to the pens and sadly we couldnt find a muzzle to fit T that he couldn't get off - so no off leash muzzle meeting, but he and G walked around the pen together and were ok.
A breif head on meeting with the wire separating them shows that head on meetings are still a cause for much hysteria from T so we will work on this - it doesnt help that G is the best dog to use at the moment but he is also taller than T and entire, whereas T is neutered and just 2 years old. Ideally id like to intro him to an older (but not OLD), steady ***** who will play but also tell him politely to back off but there isn't one in the kennels at present.
Going to takl to the manager tomorrow about teaching some of the regular walkers HOW to parallell walk and handle such socialisation because there are only three paid staff members there and rarely are all three on together with an hour to spare to do all this, but as today showed, it very much does need to be done and is valuable work.
After this T came with me for a 'how to be a dog in a house' session - ie, sitting around whilst I drank a cuppa and ate my soup in the kitchen. He was remarkably good for such a foody dog - i only had to peel him off my head/neck/shoulders twice (he thought he would nip up the side of the chair next to me and climb over my head to help wtih the soup) and then he cottoned on that lying on the floor patiently might be a better idea. I also 'accidentally' gave him chance to steal food off the work top, and go in the bin and he made no attempt to do either. I then er, less intentionally, split a load of milk on the floor and inside the fridge and T cleaned up nicely for me, but was also totally happy for me to shove him out of the way to finish cleaning up/.shut the fridge etc. All good practice for being someones pet!
Quickly picked up what a clicker means, super fast free shaping once he realised that mugging me didn't work.
Then onto T - its basically been T's day today.
First of all into the exercise pen to see how he reacts to other dogs outside the pen - T off leash at this point. Hmm.. frustrated and squealing and generally pretty hysterical - no way to tell if he wants to kill it or be friends with it.
The dog we used as the 'stooge' today is G, a Trailhound - for those unfamiliar with such beasts, picture a foxhound, but along racing lines - taller, slimmer, go faster.. They race individually along a trail, against loads of other dogs for many miles over country, over walls and ditches etc and are cheered home by their owners shouting and rattling food bowls. G is retired because he interferes with other dogs whilst racing (ie, knocking them off balance, barging around).
So anyway, we took G away to a greater distance and i went in with T and some fooooood (he likes me, I am the MAGICCHEESELADY!) and with just a small incraese in the distance, T could manage recalls, just removing his attention from G to me, and sits in return for delicious cheese. We brought G nearer and walked him up and down and again, wtih very little effort, T could be rewarded for seeing and not reacting, for complying with simple cues etc.
From there we decided to parallel walk and also offer T the chance to sniff G's butt without a head on confrontation - this also went really well and at one point T was walking nicely focussing on his handler and taking rewards when G was behind him and two other dogs were also just a few metres away.
Back to the pens and sadly we couldnt find a muzzle to fit T that he couldn't get off - so no off leash muzzle meeting, but he and G walked around the pen together and were ok.
A breif head on meeting with the wire separating them shows that head on meetings are still a cause for much hysteria from T so we will work on this - it doesnt help that G is the best dog to use at the moment but he is also taller than T and entire, whereas T is neutered and just 2 years old. Ideally id like to intro him to an older (but not OLD), steady ***** who will play but also tell him politely to back off but there isn't one in the kennels at present.
Going to takl to the manager tomorrow about teaching some of the regular walkers HOW to parallell walk and handle such socialisation because there are only three paid staff members there and rarely are all three on together with an hour to spare to do all this, but as today showed, it very much does need to be done and is valuable work.
After this T came with me for a 'how to be a dog in a house' session - ie, sitting around whilst I drank a cuppa and ate my soup in the kitchen. He was remarkably good for such a foody dog - i only had to peel him off my head/neck/shoulders twice (he thought he would nip up the side of the chair next to me and climb over my head to help wtih the soup) and then he cottoned on that lying on the floor patiently might be a better idea. I also 'accidentally' gave him chance to steal food off the work top, and go in the bin and he made no attempt to do either. I then er, less intentionally, split a load of milk on the floor and inside the fridge and T cleaned up nicely for me, but was also totally happy for me to shove him out of the way to finish cleaning up/.shut the fridge etc. All good practice for being someones pet!
West Midlands based 1-2-1 Training & Behaviour Canine Consultant
Re: I am now training dogs at a rescue!
Sounds like you are doing great.
Funny how different dogs can be! D would be my worst nightmare snorting around all day and not wanting to do anything much, but for many people that's exactly what they want from a dog!
I do hope you get the chance to work more with T around dogs, since it does sound like he improves quickly, just don't go taking him home with you when his time runs out!
Funny how different dogs can be! D would be my worst nightmare snorting around all day and not wanting to do anything much, but for many people that's exactly what they want from a dog!
I do hope you get the chance to work more with T around dogs, since it does sound like he improves quickly, just don't go taking him home with you when his time runs out!
My Blog: www.terriertreks.wordpress.com/
Re: I am now training dogs at a rescue!
Your posts are very informative when it comes to training and people learning how to do it. Also, your descriptions are very helpful. Keep up the great work!
Re: I am now training dogs at a rescue!
So..
Today was mainly a lesson in hindsight!
T's first skateboard session went a tad wrong - I was swayed by the nice weather and his willingness to work and interact with me outside the other day, into trying this in the pens and not in the training room. Big mistake.
My first clue SHOULD have been when T grabbed one of the BRICKS i was using to chock the board steady, and ran off with it, going 'come on, throw THIS for me'.... Derp!
So he was fine, until he figured out that the board MOVED (we had dispensed with the bricks over the wire fence asap!).. and it fried his pigsnorty little mind. Joypuke joypuke furysnort, hurtle around pen with skateboard clamped between jaws, snortdribblejoypuke some more, lie on the board and push self along (great but too busy to notice me offering cheese for this), roll on it, stand on it and then rarr at the front end and bite it, run around some more, liquidshiteofpurestecstasy, dribblepigsnort...
Eventually he stopped doing laps of the pen with the board in his teeth and let us have it back, but we DID have to employ the little known technique of stuffing almost half a pound of mature cheddar UP his nose, and also poked it in the sides of his mouth that we could get to. Eventually under the cheese-assault, he spat the board out to swallow the cheese and we put the board away!
So - tomorrow we will be doing clicker training IN the training room and he will learn how to stand on various surfaces that are slightly raised off the ground. And then we MIGHT consider reintroducing a skateboard at a later date. Lol.
Then I met new dog Little T, who is incredibly sweet with delightful little ears and is as best I can describe, a handbag sized staffie! Shes super sweet, clever but nervous, just wants to sit in your lap and wear pink collars and go for walkies. And probably have her nails painted pink. Shes that kinda girlie.
Then M who fingers x is going home tomorrow I think, hes a nervous lad, left tied up to the rescue fence one night. He was terrified for his first few weeks but is sufficiently chilled now he can give people a bit of eye contact and do nice sits and paws (but you cant touch his paws yourself!!). Lovely lad and his prospective new owner has experience of somewhat freaked out shep x types so he should be fine.
Then revisited little B, today unfortunately (or fortunately in some ways) I witnessed his biting issues - it is 100% triggered by the idea that someone is going to pick him up. One of the volunteers bent down to grab him and he reacted without growling, and just flew at his hands and legs. He did no actual damage and it was all over in 30 seconds iwth B hiding under my legs and offering me a ton of submissive 'oh shite' behaviour. No one shouted at him, he didn't get in trouble and we all made friends super fast so alls well that ends well there, but he has definitely been told off for growling and he has good reason not to want people to hold him round the middle or pick him up (he had a huge hernia possibly from being kicked in the stomach, this was removed some weeks back but he undoubtedly remembers the pain).
Going to do some work with him teaching him that hands on him = good, hands under him = good, people bending over = good, building up to people bending over and touching = good. Slowly slowly though!
Today was mainly a lesson in hindsight!
T's first skateboard session went a tad wrong - I was swayed by the nice weather and his willingness to work and interact with me outside the other day, into trying this in the pens and not in the training room. Big mistake.
My first clue SHOULD have been when T grabbed one of the BRICKS i was using to chock the board steady, and ran off with it, going 'come on, throw THIS for me'.... Derp!
So he was fine, until he figured out that the board MOVED (we had dispensed with the bricks over the wire fence asap!).. and it fried his pigsnorty little mind. Joypuke joypuke furysnort, hurtle around pen with skateboard clamped between jaws, snortdribblejoypuke some more, lie on the board and push self along (great but too busy to notice me offering cheese for this), roll on it, stand on it and then rarr at the front end and bite it, run around some more, liquidshiteofpurestecstasy, dribblepigsnort...
Eventually he stopped doing laps of the pen with the board in his teeth and let us have it back, but we DID have to employ the little known technique of stuffing almost half a pound of mature cheddar UP his nose, and also poked it in the sides of his mouth that we could get to. Eventually under the cheese-assault, he spat the board out to swallow the cheese and we put the board away!
So - tomorrow we will be doing clicker training IN the training room and he will learn how to stand on various surfaces that are slightly raised off the ground. And then we MIGHT consider reintroducing a skateboard at a later date. Lol.
Then I met new dog Little T, who is incredibly sweet with delightful little ears and is as best I can describe, a handbag sized staffie! Shes super sweet, clever but nervous, just wants to sit in your lap and wear pink collars and go for walkies. And probably have her nails painted pink. Shes that kinda girlie.
Then M who fingers x is going home tomorrow I think, hes a nervous lad, left tied up to the rescue fence one night. He was terrified for his first few weeks but is sufficiently chilled now he can give people a bit of eye contact and do nice sits and paws (but you cant touch his paws yourself!!). Lovely lad and his prospective new owner has experience of somewhat freaked out shep x types so he should be fine.
Then revisited little B, today unfortunately (or fortunately in some ways) I witnessed his biting issues - it is 100% triggered by the idea that someone is going to pick him up. One of the volunteers bent down to grab him and he reacted without growling, and just flew at his hands and legs. He did no actual damage and it was all over in 30 seconds iwth B hiding under my legs and offering me a ton of submissive 'oh shite' behaviour. No one shouted at him, he didn't get in trouble and we all made friends super fast so alls well that ends well there, but he has definitely been told off for growling and he has good reason not to want people to hold him round the middle or pick him up (he had a huge hernia possibly from being kicked in the stomach, this was removed some weeks back but he undoubtedly remembers the pain).
Going to do some work with him teaching him that hands on him = good, hands under him = good, people bending over = good, building up to people bending over and touching = good. Slowly slowly though!
West Midlands based 1-2-1 Training & Behaviour Canine Consultant
Re: I am now training dogs at a rescue!
What an interesting day! T sounds like he had a great time...what a goofball.
Delta, standard poodle, born 6/30/14
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ClareMarsh
- Posts: 2008
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Re: I am now training dogs at a rescue!
emmabeth wrote:liquidshiteofpurestecstasy
I love these stories Emmabeth, keep them coming
Proud owner of Ted and baby Ella
My blog about Ted http://tinkerwolf.com/
Ted's Facebook Page https://www.facebook.com/Tinkerwolf
Ted's You Tube Channel http://www.youtube.com/user/TheTedVids
My blog about Ted http://tinkerwolf.com/
Ted's Facebook Page https://www.facebook.com/Tinkerwolf
Ted's You Tube Channel http://www.youtube.com/user/TheTedVids
Re: I am now training dogs at a rescue!
I think you should send him to me, he sounds like my sorta dogSo he was fine, until he figured out that the board MOVED (we had dispensed with the bricks over the wire fence asap!).. and it fried his pigsnorty little mind. Joypuke joypuke furysnort, hurtle around pen with skateboard clamped between jaws, snortdribblejoypuke some more, lie on the board and push self along (great but too busy to notice me offering cheese for this), roll on it, stand on it and then rarr at the front end and bite it, run around some more, liquidshiteofpurestecstasy, dribblepigsnort...
Honestly, he sounds fantastic and a hell of a character.Re: I am now training dogs at a rescue!
I'll parcel him up right now!
Sooooo today T's favouritest walker was there all day so he spent all day out walking around and getting cuddles and foods, good day for him!
I met P, the freakiest looking staff x you EVER saw, hes a white dog that looks like hes had a black paintbomb explode in his face, so his nose and ears are black, the rest of him is ticked black with a heavier concentration on his face, fading out the further down his body you get so his tail is almost pure white!
He is very sweet but not confident around people standing up or indoors - out in the pen, K and I sat around on the floor and he soon decided I was as good for butt scritching as she was and came to me, and then alternated between us, making piggy staffy squeaks of delight when we hit the right spot.
He is very sweet and unusual looking and I don't think it will take long for him to become friendly and more relaxed.
Then more work with B - today was good (though I dont know about this afternoon as he had a vet check so that was probably unpleasant for him). We did some work desensitizing him to me bending over him, reaching out to him etc in return for cheeses. We got as far as me leaning over touching his side with one hand and called it a day there as he had been very good. Then he started jumping on the chair so we practiced up and off, and then I decided he could hop up on the grooming table and work on physical contact up there using grooming tools.
He clearly finds the tools a new and unusual thing so was a little wary of those but found the physical contact with them quite pleasant and scoffed a fair bit of cheese quite determinedly (rather than absent mindedly when he is on the floor). Once I put the tools away he did a lot of wiggling around and rolling on his back inviting scritches and physical contact - this definitely had an element of stress relief so I am hoping his experience up there today helped when the vets came and he went back up on the table this afternoon. Fingers x!
Finally I walked tatty old J, the collie who isn't a collie (hes actually a labrador in a collie suit!) - hes a sweetie and doesn't need any real training that I can offer at the shelter, but he likes some company. He was a bit worried by my scooter but we stopped lots and had cuddles, he is totally fine with it when it isn't moving, just a bit concerned when it is.
Sooooo today T's favouritest walker was there all day so he spent all day out walking around and getting cuddles and foods, good day for him!
I met P, the freakiest looking staff x you EVER saw, hes a white dog that looks like hes had a black paintbomb explode in his face, so his nose and ears are black, the rest of him is ticked black with a heavier concentration on his face, fading out the further down his body you get so his tail is almost pure white!
He is very sweet but not confident around people standing up or indoors - out in the pen, K and I sat around on the floor and he soon decided I was as good for butt scritching as she was and came to me, and then alternated between us, making piggy staffy squeaks of delight when we hit the right spot.
He is very sweet and unusual looking and I don't think it will take long for him to become friendly and more relaxed.
Then more work with B - today was good (though I dont know about this afternoon as he had a vet check so that was probably unpleasant for him). We did some work desensitizing him to me bending over him, reaching out to him etc in return for cheeses. We got as far as me leaning over touching his side with one hand and called it a day there as he had been very good. Then he started jumping on the chair so we practiced up and off, and then I decided he could hop up on the grooming table and work on physical contact up there using grooming tools.
He clearly finds the tools a new and unusual thing so was a little wary of those but found the physical contact with them quite pleasant and scoffed a fair bit of cheese quite determinedly (rather than absent mindedly when he is on the floor). Once I put the tools away he did a lot of wiggling around and rolling on his back inviting scritches and physical contact - this definitely had an element of stress relief so I am hoping his experience up there today helped when the vets came and he went back up on the table this afternoon. Fingers x!
Finally I walked tatty old J, the collie who isn't a collie (hes actually a labrador in a collie suit!) - hes a sweetie and doesn't need any real training that I can offer at the shelter, but he likes some company. He was a bit worried by my scooter but we stopped lots and had cuddles, he is totally fine with it when it isn't moving, just a bit concerned when it is.
West Midlands based 1-2-1 Training & Behaviour Canine Consultant
Re: I am now training dogs at a rescue!
Short session today as despite the weekend off I am feeling pretty rough..
Anyway, first up was B who last I saw him had been pretty good but he had had a vet check afterwards. Staff member L reported back that as predicted, despite being muzzled he had been preeetty savage about being checked over, however I had him up on the table (again I asked him to jump up himself via a chair rather than attempt to lift him) today and whilst he was wary, and trying to make himself feel secure, at no point did I feel like he was pushed too far or liable to bite me.
We did a little bit of brushing and a bit of touching, in return for rewards, and he made a nest in my handbag and tried to stay there If we can crack the issue about being leaned over/picked up (as much as I disagree with picking small dogs up except where absolutely necessary, people DO.. and I can't stop them all) and then work on his interaction with other dogs he would make someone a very very sweet pet, probably he would looooooove to be a lorry or truck dog and go around in peoples lorries or go to work with someone in their truck.
Then T, and we revisited the skateboard thing, but with my new fakeboard - the first few minutes were great, he got the idea of getting ON the board pretty fast (faster than my Rocky did at home the night before) but then his mind seemed to just 'go' and he grabbed the board and ragged it around and tried to kill it, much as he did iwth the real skateboard the other day.
However this time I was ready for this, so we were indoors and he had his harness on, and I was armed with Primula smoked ham flavoured cheese spread, and he VERY quickly dropped the board in return for that. So we took it away, did a few calmer things to re-engage his thinking brain and disengage his 'WRECK IIIIIIIIIIIIT' brain, and re-introduced the board, he stood on it perfectly so jackpot for that and it was put away and the session ended.
I think tomorrow I am going to work on him giving stuff back to me, swapping etc, I just need to think of really DULL items he won't find much interest in ragging, and teach him the REAL rules to raggy tug games as he doesn't really know them. Any suggestions??
Anyway, first up was B who last I saw him had been pretty good but he had had a vet check afterwards. Staff member L reported back that as predicted, despite being muzzled he had been preeetty savage about being checked over, however I had him up on the table (again I asked him to jump up himself via a chair rather than attempt to lift him) today and whilst he was wary, and trying to make himself feel secure, at no point did I feel like he was pushed too far or liable to bite me.
We did a little bit of brushing and a bit of touching, in return for rewards, and he made a nest in my handbag and tried to stay there
If we can crack the issue about being leaned over/picked up (as much as I disagree with picking small dogs up except where absolutely necessary, people DO.. and I can't stop them all) and then work on his interaction with other dogs he would make someone a very very sweet pet, probably he would looooooove to be a lorry or truck dog and go around in peoples lorries or go to work with someone in their truck.Then T, and we revisited the skateboard thing, but with my new fakeboard - the first few minutes were great, he got the idea of getting ON the board pretty fast (faster than my Rocky did at home the night before) but then his mind seemed to just 'go' and he grabbed the board and ragged it around and tried to kill it, much as he did iwth the real skateboard the other day.
However this time I was ready for this, so we were indoors and he had his harness on, and I was armed with Primula smoked ham flavoured cheese spread, and he VERY quickly dropped the board in return for that. So we took it away, did a few calmer things to re-engage his thinking brain and disengage his 'WRECK IIIIIIIIIIIIT' brain, and re-introduced the board, he stood on it perfectly so jackpot for that and it was put away and the session ended.
I think tomorrow I am going to work on him giving stuff back to me, swapping etc, I just need to think of really DULL items he won't find much interest in ragging, and teach him the REAL rules to raggy tug games as he doesn't really know them. Any suggestions??
West Midlands based 1-2-1 Training & Behaviour Canine Consultant
Re: I am now training dogs at a rescue!
I've been doing a bit with poppy with items that are awkward/heavy to hold so she is rather keen to give them up. Frying pan, metal spoon (doesn't much like taste of metal), large square blocks that are awkward for her to hold. I tell her "take it" or encourage her to pick it up, and then ask for the swap.
I'm guessing if you can teach him some control with it then tug would be a pretty good reward!
I'm guessing if you can teach him some control with it then tug would be a pretty good reward!
My Blog: www.terriertreks.wordpress.com/
Re: I am now training dogs at a rescue!
Ahh.. metal things..
Hmm. Ok, I can ask him to NOT chew his lead when I put it on (he has a chain lead) and he will spit it out .. though he will try and get it again almost immediately - I will work on that with click + treat..
When he goes for something to chew/rag/wreck it.. its frustration and boiling over I think and he has good reason, he is not allowed any toys in his kennel when alone, and he spends probably 23 hours a day in a small space with nothing to do but bark, so finding an appropriate outlet for that frustration IS really difficult. Ideally I would find an outlet then teaching him to exercise self control in training sessions would be much easier and much fairer..
Any ideas for games that could relief frustration without actually winding him up more? He can have some toys in the pen, supervised.. but nothing he can chew lumps out of (and this guy could chew lumps out of a concrete block)..
When I gave him his cardboard box today he was right on it, in seconds, he even tried to stand on it at one point.. which resulted in it going flat - he's too heavy! Actually, the fact he HASN'T tried to KILLMAIMDESTROY with the cardboard box makes me wonder if card is a safe thing to use in teaching him to give stuff back.. hmm!
Hmm. Ok, I can ask him to NOT chew his lead when I put it on (he has a chain lead) and he will spit it out .. though he will try and get it again almost immediately - I will work on that with click + treat..
When he goes for something to chew/rag/wreck it.. its frustration and boiling over I think and he has good reason, he is not allowed any toys in his kennel when alone, and he spends probably 23 hours a day in a small space with nothing to do but bark, so finding an appropriate outlet for that frustration IS really difficult. Ideally I would find an outlet then teaching him to exercise self control in training sessions would be much easier and much fairer..
Any ideas for games that could relief frustration without actually winding him up more? He can have some toys in the pen, supervised.. but nothing he can chew lumps out of (and this guy could chew lumps out of a concrete block)..
When I gave him his cardboard box today he was right on it, in seconds, he even tried to stand on it at one point.. which resulted in it going flat
- he's too heavy! Actually, the fact he HASN'T tried to KILLMAIMDESTROY with the cardboard box makes me wonder if card is a safe thing to use in teaching him to give stuff back.. hmm!West Midlands based 1-2-1 Training & Behaviour Canine Consultant
Re: I am now training dogs at a rescue!
Hmm. I recall GoughNuts (linked you to the UK site - though if Americans are interested, here's the original site) are supposed to be really tough, but obviously they can be chewed up. :/ Not sure if it would be appropriate, but maybe worth looking into? The company replaces the toy for the cost of shipping, if the dog does manage to get to the red core. Even if he were allowed it only while people were coming and going and could check on him, being allowed to chew something would probably help relieve some of his frustration.
Don't know of any frustration relief games, though, at least not ones that don't get the dog ramped up.
T has stolen my heart...wish I could help out more!
Don't know of any frustration relief games, though, at least not ones that don't get the dog ramped up.
T has stolen my heart...wish I could help out more!
Delta, standard poodle, born 6/30/14
