Gone to the Dogs

[heirloomgal]

Fear

Very true.

 

[Marie2020]

i wish i could fix it for a certain person...

I hope that's not me

 

[Marie2020]

Keep hope @Marie2020, it's not an easy road dealing with reactivity but I've met many people have 100% solved it. Even quite severe cases. Almost all the online dog trainers I follow say this is the #1 reason why people seek them out for help. I quite like Cheri Wulff Lucas and she has put out a lot of content regarding this issue, and I like that she is a balanced trainer.https://www.youtube.com/user/cherilucas/videos

My only caution to you would be in regards to using food rewards when dealing with reactivity. You can't reward your dog out of a reactive state of mind. Treats are for integrating a wanted behaviour into your dog, they won't take a bad behaviour out. And if the treats become associated with barking behaviour, you've got an even bigger problem on your hands because they think it's a reward for it.

I (& my dog trainer) used a prong collar on my dog initially, and I can tell you that immediately stopped my dog from fear barking. The reactivity ended in 30 seconds flat, it was instant freedom. But I know not everyone is comfortable with that route, and it is a technical science to use the collar. Without a physical correction, it's a hard behaviour to stop, but if you really focus on building her confidence up that can work wonders too.

Now, after so much training with my dog, when we walk past other reactive dogs being walked, or dogs behind fences barking wildly, he loves it. Their barking actually calms him, because he knows that dog is afraid of him and not the other way around. He walks smugly in contented silence. Don't become a prisoner to your house, the fate of so many dealing with this. Dogs bark to eliminate from the environment what they dislike, and once you start to avoid the things that sets them off, the dog gets affirmed in what it's doing and commits further to it.

Thank you

 

[flowerbug]

I hope that's not me

no, Mom's fear of dogs... she acts like prey which makes it even worse. self-reinforcing cycle. if we go anyplace it is all she can focus on if there are any dogs around. it's hard to carry around ice-cream and donuts to give her a treat to distract her. just not possible. we don't go to parks or out for walks any more. she's very busy with other things so we're not hanging out in public that often. we do have a date coming up to go out and do stuff but i know for sure that if there are any dogs around it will not be a good time until we can get to someplace else. so... that's about how it is going. reactive animals and reactive people... and me trying to be a peaceful observer and just get on with things as quickly and with as little drama as possible.

 

[digitS']

Mom's fear of dogs...

That has to be tough. How is she with herbivores?

I grew up with a dog — older than I was. Earliest memories. She was like a neighbor living in the backyard with frequent visits, indoors. GS Pointer, so a bigger dog –– she probably thought of me as something of a pest. Your mother could have been like that little girl in the first post of this thread, page 1.

The cows showed up when we moved to a farm at age 6. I was cautioned repeatedly about being out there with them. But, I liked being out there with them. It didn't take anytime for me to learn how "bossy" Bos taurus are. And yes, they could be dangerous. With intent with some of them. At times just accidentally. Chickens actually came before cows since Grandma had chickens and I was given a Bantam for a pet. Chased grasshoppers and ate them. Ate worms! The dog, Pepper, was gentle ... no doubt because she had her routine kibble.

 

[flowerbug]

That has to be tough. How is she with herbivores?

she doesn't like anything with fur (including herself). she just isn't into animals at all, she is more ok with bugs as long as they stay outside, like she will say things about if she's seen a praying mantis, but she won't let them crawl on her. and she will ask me about the worms. i have to hunt the spiders down and check for webs and deal with the ants if there are any.

as for big animals i've always had a lot of respect for them and try to stay away from them. at age about 11 i got tangled up and rope burns from a horse that panicked and ran through some clothes lines. i wasn't on the horse but was standing in the wrong place at the wrong time. i walked around for the next few weeks with both my arms held out like Frankenstein until the scabs healed. she doesn't want anything to do with them either.

 

[ducks4you]

YOU SHOULD have respect for a 1,200 lb animal, the HORSE!!
When a horse is properly gentled and trained they can be very safe. We always desensitize ours to stimili that would make them panic and hurt somebody, and it's ALWAYS the spoiled back yard horse who does this.
A friend was helping me with an outside job last year. He apologized bc he thought that the machinery would scare my horses. I told him that repeated exposure is the Best training I can give them.
Still, I am very sorry about your experience.
Small ponies are the worst! Parents let the child train, and children don't know what they are doing.
The very best ponies are owned by parents who have children, professionals who train/show their Own horses, and buy/train the very safest ponies that won't hurt their children.
Often these ponies are also taught to drive so that an adult can work them enough to keep up the discipline.
A horse/pony can pull 4x/weight that they can carry on their back--that's how this works.
Notice that tiny "Teddy" has NO problem pulling an adult in a cart, and that the trainer spent MONTHS training him to stand still and he was pulling a trailer without a person in it First.

Also, this is a British Shetland Pony. American Shetlands are taller and look more refined. Just as an aside.
Teddy is a little sweetheart bc of sweat equity from his trainer.

 

[Shades-of-Oregon]

Ducks…All great words of advice. I have owned horses all my life. They are gentle giants once ground manners and training is accomplished by owner. It’s really not any different than training a puppy to learn what’s acceptable behaviors and fitting in a family as a member is a good thing.

 

[Marie2020]

no, Mom's fear of dogs... she acts like prey which makes it even worse. self-reinforcing cycle. if we go anyplace it is all she can focus on if there are any dogs around. it's hard to carry around ice-cream and donuts to give her a treat to distract her. just not possible. we don't go to parks or out for walks any more. she's very busy with other things so we're not hanging out in public that often. we do have a date coming up to go out and do stuff but i know for sure that if there are any dogs around it will not be a good time until we can get to someplace else. so... that's about how it is going. reactive animals and reactive people... and me trying to be a peaceful observer and just get on with things as quickly and with as little drama as possible.

Poor mother.
If there's one thing I have learned through getting Nancy, not all dogs that bark are meaninh to be threatening, like your mother, it's fear.

Hopefully she will meet a dog she can connect with to help her one day

One lady I met several years ago was terrified of any kind of dog at all. Then her daughter bought her a frenchie, now that little fella has become her baby and she dotes on him.

I'm not saying she doesn't have any worries concerning her safety with every dog but she has definitely improved enormously from when I first met her.

 

[Shades-of-Oregon]

A well trained animal. Baby hardly learning to walk herself leads a horse by herself.