! Reactive Dog Class Lisa Radosta DVM, DACVB NIGHT ONE Welcome to Reactive Dog Class! Many of you have been struggling with your dog s behavior on walks. You may feel as stressed as your dog does on walks. Every dog has the ability to improve. This class is just the beginning for your dog. Each dog starts at a different level and will learn at different rates. Our goals for your dog after this class are more relaxed and calm behavior when he or she would typically be upset and for you to feel confident, safe and in control when walking your dog. YOUR DOG S PAYCHECK Your dog will be working very hard in the next 6 weeks and beyond to overcome her fears. She deserves to be paid. Wait, did you think that your dog would work for you because she loves you? She loves you, but she will need more than love to push past her fears and try these new coping behaviors. In addition, you pet and love her all the time regardless of how hard she works. She needs something special that she never gets otherwise in order to motivate her to work in fearful situations. Some dogs will work for dog food or dog biscuits, but most won t work very hard for it. In order to be successful, you will need a powerful reward. Pay her with meat, cheese, or stinky treats. Stay with things that are low fat such as white meat chicken, part-skim mozzarella or low fat steak so as not to cause gastrointestinal upset. Freshly cooked liver is also powerful. Not your style? Try Natural Balance dog food, Pure Bites dog treats or Roll Over in the sausage roll. Doggie paychecks should be about ¼ inch in diameter regardless of the size of your dog. They should be soft and easily swallowed. Some dogs would rather be paid with a toy. If that is the case, save that toy for training sessions only. 1. Treats should be about ¼ inch 2. Most dogs prefer human food over rewards 3. Bring at least 3 different types of rewards in different bags. 4. Bring 5 snack bags per class. CLASS GUIDELINES Florida Veterinary Behavior Service, 2016 Page 1! of 5!!1
Do not drop your leash Wear closed toe shoes When not working with your dog, your dog should be in a crate Do not let dogs meet each other unless asked to do so Keep your dog s entire body within their designated space. This includes feet and tails. Hold your leash with two points of contact. For large dogs, your hands should be 18-24 inches from the snap and for small dogs, it should be approximately 2 ½-3 feet. The leash should have a U shape from your hand to where the leash attaches to your dog s collar. ALL DOGS SHOULD HAVE THE FOLLOWING NON-SKID Mat big enough for your dog s entire body to fit on it when he is lying down comfortably. Crate (if your dog cannot be crated, please email me at info@flvetbehavior.com prior to class 2 (first night with dogs). Crate cover Food Rewards (see above) Non-retractable leash 4-6 feet Treat bag that stays open such as the doggone good treat bag. Collar COLLARS/HARNESSES If your dog wears a shock, choke or pinch/prong collar for walks or interactions with other dogs, do not bring it to class. Bring your dog on a different collar or harness. Bring any collars or harnesses that you have previously used because we might use them again. Without exception we will not be using the following tools in class: o Choke collars o Pinch/Prong collars o o Shock collars If your dog uses one of the these collars for walks at this time, she will be fitted with a more appropriate tool in the beginning of Class 2 (first night of class with dogs). RECOMMENDED READING/VIEWING Short video on Counterconditioning by Suzanne Clothier: http://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=kwnsdvhi8mg&feature=youtube_gdata_player The Language of Dogs, by Sarah Kalnajs Fired Up, Freaked Out and Frantic, by Laura VanArendonk Baugh CPDT-KA KPACTP Don t Shoot the Dog, by Karen Pryor HOME WORK (WEEK ONE) Florida Veterinary Behavior Service, 2016 Page 2! of 5!!2
1) Find your dog s currency a) Experiment with all kinds of rewards/toys to see what your dog loves. Save those rewards for training only. b) Make a list from 1-10 of all the food rewards that your dog likes with the most valuable to your dog as number 1 and the least valuable as number 10. 2) Avoid reactions a) Do not expose your dog to the things that cause her to overreact for 2 weeks at least. If you can t avoid dogs or bicycles or whatever your dog overreacts to, use the turn and go and the let s go technique to get your dog out of the situation quickly. b) When you do walk your dog, reinforce or Homework at a glance: Find your dog s currency. Avoid reactions. Let s Go! Up and Down game Discontinue punishment Reward the positive Name recognition Training journal Crate Relaxation stage 1 Body language SIT! Conditioned reinforcer reward your dog for all behaviors that are inconsistent with reactivity. If your dog is just standing next to you and not reacting, reward your dog. If your dog hears something and does not react, reward your dog. 3) Let s Go i) Let s go is a cue which will let your dog know its time to turn quickly and go in the other direction. By conditioning g a verbal cue with this meaning, you will have the ability to get your dog s attention and change his emotional state in powerful way than if you simply lured him with food. ii) Start this exercise in a distraction free area such as inside the house. Your dog does not need a leash for this part of the exercise. iii) Stand with your dog next to you. iv) Say, Your dog s name, let s go. Immediately hand your dog a reward. v) Next, rotate your body 90 degrees away from your dog with your hand at your side. When your dog comes up to your side, hand him a reward. vi) Repeat the step above, turning 90 degrees (you are now facing the opposite way as when you started) but this time when your dog comes up next to you, give him 3 rewards. vii) Take 2-3 steps quickly and reward your dog for coming with you. viii)repeat this exercise until your dog is moving ahead of you before you turn. Now you are ready to decrease the number of rewards you are giving for each step. ix) At the next training session, begin the exercise with your dog standing next to you as you always have. x) Say, Your dog s name, let s go and immediately turn 90 degrees. Reward your dog. Turn 90 degrees again and reward your dog again, this time with 3 rewards. When your dog can perform this behavior well, try turning all the way around and only rewarding him when you both have turned 180 degrees. Florida Veterinary Behavior Service, 2016 Page 3! of 5!!3
Remember when he has completed the entire sequence, he should get 3 rewards. xi) Now you are ready to practice in more distracting situations like your backyard or front yard. 4) Discontinue physical punishment. a) Do not use any physical punishment-hitting, choke collars, pinch/prong collars or shock collars. 5) Reward the positive a) When your dog is calm and under control, hand her a treat. b) If you walk outside of your door for a walk with your dog and she looks relaxed, reward her. c) Continue to reward her for each time that she looks calm when she is outside. d) This will feel like A LOT of treats. That is fine for now. We will build on this exercise later. 6) Name Recognition (do this if your dog doesn t turn toward you when you say her name) a) Say your dog s name. When she turns toward you, hand her a reward. Do this a couple of times a day for 1 minute. b) When your dog will turn toward you reliably in the house when you say her name, you are ready to take it on the road and practice outside in your yard. c) Reward your dog every time that you say her name and she looks at you. d) Troubleshooting i) If she doesn t look at you within 2 seconds, use a treat to lure her back to you and then reward. ii) Try not to say her name more than once. iii) If you find yourself using the trouble shooting methods above more than ¼ of the time, go back to step one or practice in a less stressful area. 7) Start a Journal a) Keep a training journal so that you can track your dog s progression. 8) SIT! a) Ask your dog to sit for all interactions with you or anyone else. That means all interactions. He doesn t get anything unless he sits. Yes, that includes petting, hugging, etc. 9) Relaxation a) See the handout and videos. Just concentrate on step one now. b) Your goal is to get through the first section of the handout and get your dog to like the mat. 10) Crate Florida Veterinary Behavior Service, 2016 Page 4! of 5!!4
a) Train your dog to go to the crate. b) If your dog cannot be crated, please let us know. c) Please see the links on this page for more information on how to do this. 11) Body Language a) This week, tally up all of the body language signals that you see your dog display. Write down not only the signals themselves but also the number of times that your dog displays the signals. Keep a running tally for the week. You will be amazed at how much your dog is talking to you all day long! 12) Up and Down Game a) Drop a treat on the floor in front of your dog. b) Let your dog eat it. c) When she looks up at you, use your conditioned reinforcer (CR) which can be a clicker or a word that you have conditioned and then toss a treat back to the ground. d) When she is proficient at this game move the game to low stress areas at low stress times outside of your home. e) Another twist is to increase the amount of time that she has to look at you for up to 10 seconds before she gets the treat. 13)Choose and charge up your conditioned reinforcer a) If your dog knows what a clicker is and responds with immediate attention to you when you click, you can skip this section! b) If not, we need you to choose a distinct word or sound (a clicker is fine) which you can use as a conditioned reinforcer (CR). c) The CR will help you to improve your timing. It tells your dog that she did something well and that a treat is coming. d) Refer to the handouts on this page for information on how to pair the click or the word with food so that you can use it in real time. Florida Veterinary Behavior Service, 2016 Page 5! of 5!!5