Yay!!

[ladybug1802]

I took Dylan to a friends house last night for dinner....he has been to her house quite a lot, likes her and her dogs, but there were due to be 3 other of oour friends there who are not really very doggy people and who have met Dylan outside but not inside. So I asked them all in advance to ignore him totally. In the edn it turned out to only be one other girl who we work with who came, but she ignored him when he came in - Dylan went straight to play with one of my other friend's dogs anyway!

Then we sat down and Dylan went and sniffed this girl....after a fewe times of him sniffing I said she could put her hand down and stroke him on the chest....which he loved! She had momentarily forgotten about the no eye contact thing so was looking down at him too....and he just got this frozxen and worried look on his face, the one that precedes a snap or growl. So when I saw it I just asked her to look away and called him to me...all fine.....then he went straight back to this girl for another cuddle....she put her arm down and stroked him on the chest again while he sat next to her, leaned against her and looked in bliss! He kept giving the girl small glances up, just to make sure she hadnt turned into an evil dog beating machine, but was more than happy....and throghout the rest of the evening kept coming back to her for strokes and scritches! She just didnt make eye contact when he was close which was great.

I feel so much more in tune with my boy now....and it is clear now that it is the eye contact with a stranger that freaks him out....once he knows someone you can look at him all you like (within reason of course!). But what I was really pleased with is that 6 months or so ago he wouldnt have given me that warning look...he would have frozen for a split second then gone straight to snap mode. Now he not only has gone to doing a low growl if something really bothers him which doesnt happen much, but it was nice to see he felt he could LOOK worried without having to react straight away. I have no doubt that if she had carried on staring and I hadnt intervened he would have had no choice but to growl or snap, but the fact he didnt straight away signals to me we have made a huge step forward! Its such a tiny thing and to many other people I am sure they think I am mad for feeling so proud, but we have come on leaps and bounds since the summer!

[Horace's Mum]

Well done you and Dylan!! It is a fabulous feeling isn't it?

Just one thought, it would be worth reinforcing things a little more when he is relaxed, so when he is happy and having a cuddle, every so often just call him over and give him a treat or a bit of reassurance from you, before allowing him to wander back over if her wants to. I have noticed with Horus that he isn't always able to take himself away from something he likes even when he starts to worry about the person's intentions - it's a bizarre situation but it is as if he doesn't have the confidence to leave, or maybe isn't sure he is allowed. I used to invite him to say hello to someone, call him away almost straight away and reward him, then he was allowed to go over or not, as he wished. But by recalling him and rewarding him with reassurance from me or a little treat, it seemed to reassure him that he could walk away if he wanted to, without being restrained. Maybe it simply showed him that he wouldn't be stopped if he did want to move away. It is important of course to make sure the "stranger" understands why you call him away, and that they are not to restrain him in any way.

[ladybug1802]

Ah thats a good point - makes perfect sense so will try that! I was stroking him through the evening as well, but you are right, having me specifically call him over for praise would reinforce in his brain that all is Ok and he is doing good! Thank you!

[Noobs]

Well done ladybug and Dylan! How wonderful to be in tune with your dog. Many "average" dog owners' dogs talk to them all the time and it never occurs to them to listen. Well done to you and all your hard work.

And thanks for that tip, HM. I will also keep that in mind for Murphy.

[ladybug1802]

Its a great feeling isnt it!

And I just want to say - I was on another forum a while back, and stopped going on it much after I joined here...and the only 'advice' they gave for people's problems really was to 'get a professional out'! There was one ex vet come dog trainer on there who used to post very blunt, rude replies yet still not give any advice other than to get a trainer of professional of some kind out. Then I come on here and everyone is so friendly and helpful - it is so refreshing!!

[Fundog]

Awesome. Well done.

[wvvdiup1]

Well Done to the both of you!

[MPbandmom]

Well done!

[emmabeth]

Oooh its nice to come in here and read some positive happy threads!

I think a lot of people 'pooh-pooh' advice given over the internet and in some cases there is good reason for that, we cannot see your dog and we obviously cannot know that what a person posts is really the truth.

But, all that said, if we err on the side of managing things safely, which we always do, and break advice down into easy steps, there are few problems that cannot be advised upon and indeed solved! It just takes common sense and of course the willingness to put the work in from the owner which you have done really well ladybug!

[jacksdad]

way to go Ladybug and Dylan.

what I love about this success story is it touches on an aspect of positive reinforcement training thought process that doesn't (in my opinion) as much "press" as it probably should. And that is listening to our dogs. listening to and doing what our dogs ask is sometimes the right thing to do, because it's not always about being in "charge".

Ladybug keep up the good work. Keep listening to Dylan.