Getting Help.

I have help now. Ricochet’s crazy prey drive and reactivity was making enjoying him difficult. He is clever and quick to learn a trick but his anxieties and explosiveness are rooted deep. Every walk, game of fetch, run, etc. was a test of patience and, at times, infuriating. I came to the realization that trying to figure things out on my own was only stalling progress. I needed help from someone who knows that they are doing so I signed us up for an obedience class.

The first week I was so apprehensive about Ric freaking out. I just knew that he was going to bark and lunge at other dogs and be a huge distraction to class. We walked in and Ric went into nervous/unsure “I’m just going to be a quiet observer” mode. Ugh. Of course. He acted like an angel. I had told the trainer all about my crazy dog and, here he is, sitting peacefully and quietly looking about the room. He decided to show up as mild-mannered Honeymoon Ric. Don’t get me wrong, this made the class super easy. I learned some excellent tips on getting my dog excited about learning and engaging with me. I was educated about leash manners which was really helpful. It was great but I didn’t get the opportunity to work on the real issues.

Then came week two. The honeymoon was OVER. Ricochet decided that he was more than comfortable enough to bark and make himself known to the other dogs. I knew that this needed to happen to get the help I needed but it was also anxiety inducing and more than a little embarrassing.

The trainer was excellent. She gave me SO much useful feedback on how to guide Ric through these explosive situations. She showed me how my constant leash tension (the tension that I was providing to hold him back and calm him) was amping up the situation. The tension on the leash was basically telling him, “it’s go time.” She (the trainer, let’s call her Jen) showed me how to properly hold the leash so that it was loose and calm. This way, if he did try to pull at something, the leash would give a small “bop” that would help take his attention away from the offending creature/vehicle.

Jen also taught me that I was over-treating Ricochet in these situations. I would pop treat after treat in his mouth thinking that I was teaching him that he doesn’t need to be afraid of these stimuli and that they are rewarding. What I was actually doing was creating MORE excitement to an already over stimulating scenario. She taught me to only reward when Ricochet was calmly observing the critter or vehicle so that I am rewarding his calm behavior and not just teaching that these things yield lots of treats. Basically, Jen told me that my anxious behaviors were only making things worse. I needed to settle down because I was as bad as Ricochet (she said it nicely, I’m just providing the Cliff Notes Synopsis).

Ugh. To watch Jen provide Ricochet with the exact feedback he needed to calm down and interact was amazing. She provided a couple of corrections and that was it. After that, Ricochet engaged in the class calmly and peacefully. He did not react to the other dogs but observed them with calm body language. It was frustrating to see somebody do this with, seemingly, so much ease. I had been working for months and things were only getting worse. Jen worked with him for three minutes and was getting through to him.

Then I remembered something important. She has studied this and has been doing this type of training for ten years. I am the beginner. I joined the class because I was a lost beginner who needed guidance. I was getting exactly what I needed (and so was Ric). Jen even shared with me that she got into dog training because she had a highly reactive dog (just like Ric!) and didn’t know how to handle the situation. At one point she was the beginner too. I feel so fortunate to be getting the help that Ric and I need. We are practicing hard, we now have support and guidance, and I can’t wait to see where this leads. Wish us luck!!!