Training Ricochet has often felt like being stuck in an infinite loop. I need to work with him on impulse control and communication so that he doesn’t run out of the house to chase critters, busses, other dogs, weird looking butterflies, plastic bags, etc. I should start in the house right? Free from distractions? Wrong, because the windows in my house are all low to the ground so he completely fixates on what’s outside and literally tears around the house from window to window looking for… whatever he’s looking for. I should just close the blinds right? No. He then pushes he head right on past the blinds and rips them.
This obsessive behavior has been hard to get through. I read a training book (Zak George’s Dog Training Revolution, check it out!) that said that behaviors like these often stem from a dog that isn’t getting enough exercise and that I should exercise my dog with long walks or a game of fetch. Hmmm… I’m still stuck in that loop because taking Ricochet for a walk means his going after anything and everything. Playing fetch with Ricochet means I’m flapping toys in front of him like an idiot trying to engage him while his hyper focused collie eyes are darting around at everything trying to find something to chase and then he takes off and I have to grab his leash to redirect. This results in a smart dog with high energy needs not getting any exercise, so I am left with obsessive behaviors.
I am so happy to type this next sentence, you don’t even know. Okay, here it goes. The past two weeks… I think we may have broken the loop! I am an early bird that normally likes to wake up, sit down, look at my phone, and drink a delightful amount of caffeine. However, the past couple of weeks I have been taking Ric for a walk right away in the morning (like 5:30 in the morning, gross). It’s the perfect time of day because the little critters aren’t out yet (or very few), delivery trucks and busses aren’t out, and we rarely see other dogs. It’s amazing to watch Ricochet’s body language. When we first start our walk his ears are straight up, his body is tense, his eyes are alert, he is drooling. Literally everything about him just looks charged and tense. Then about 40 minutes into the walk you start to see him loosen up. His ears relax, his gaze is curious as opposed to crazed, it’s like his whole body just does his heavy sigh and says, “okay, we’re good.”
When he get’s home, he still looks out windows (still the same dog), but not in an obsessive way. He lays on the couch and looks out the window in kind of a “hmmm, I wonder what’s on Netflix” kind of way.
I have also really been pushing Frisbee. At first he seemed to prefer the ball so I had given up on frisbee. The problem with the ball though is that he runs to the ball, picks it up, gets distracted by something else (even if I run with him or try to make the ball exciting), drops the ball, and wanders away. Frisbee has been different though! Instead of throwing it right away I have been using the frisbee to play tug for about 10-15 seconds before each throw. This not only gets him SUPER excited to chase the frisbee but he also can’t wait to bring it back to me because he gets to play tug and he now thinks that I am a lot of fun too!!!! He has really been learning to love the game and it’s amazing to watch him bring the frisbee back. Now his hyper focused collie eyes are centered right on me and he is clearly saying, “oh hey! we can do things together, wouldn’t it be fun if we were a team?!? (No shit Ric, that’s what I’ve been saying this whole time…but I digress).
Having a dog that has been getting enough exercise has made a night and day difference in our training. I won’t get into everything we’ve been working on because I don’t feel like typing a novel today (and you probably don’t feel like reading one). I will end with this though. Now that Ricochet is getting the exercise that he needs I am able to cut though all of that obsessive behavior. Yes, he is still interested in other dogs, busses, and critters but now instead of this hyper “I will die to reach that plastic bag in the road” focus he is responsive to my corrections and redirections. Because he is responsive to my corrections, I am able to interrupt his thought process before he gets out of hand, because he is not getting out of hand our communication is improving and he is having more successes day by day. It seems we have entered a new loop! This loop is still a lot of work and will have it’s ups and downs, but dang this one seems like it will be much more fun for both of us.
The Heralding Hound 