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Previously Zorro was uncomfortable with my usual Confidence Course. Fortunately Jan has a built in Confidence Course literally in her back yard. Although not a traditional Course it does have Cones (trees) and Obstacles (fallen trees) and passers by with dogs. Zorro takes his daily walks in this area and is happy here so we met him where he was and used a Natural Confidence Course for this session.
Our areas of concentration for Zorro are calmness, walking nicely on a lead and minimizing his reaction to other dogs.
Jan has been incorporating TTouches into her quite time with Zorro. She has noticed that he will now lay calmly and play with a toy or just relax. This is a very new coping skill for Zorro!
Today we focused on walking nicely on the lead and used the Step-In Harness with the Super Balance Leash configuration. With the "Ask & Release" signals on the lead Zorro walked more calmly and with more intention than I've seen. When we have our bodys in proper alignment with his and our signals are clear he is right on target.
Today I used some clicker training with him to build the "Watch Me" and "Touch" requests. We were given the opportunity to practice these with a redirection when I saw someone approaching with a dog. Zorro focused on the dog in the distance and I stood to the opposite side and asked him to "Watch Me" and gave a click & treat when he complied. Next I asked him to "Touch" my hand as I took his focus in the opposite direction of the approaching dog. As we redirected Zorro's focus we also changed the direction of our walk. Rather than force Zorro into a situation where he may not be successful we walked him another way and built upon the success we already had with him taking his focus off the dog and putting it back on us.
Jan was very pleased with how Zorro didn't become vocal with the other dog. I'm pleased that Jan has a some new tools in her tool box for working with Zorro with other dogs. We also talked about what happens when we, the handler, tenses up on a leash when we anticipate trouble. That tension transmits down the leash and to the dog. The dog reads this tension as a stressful situation that the handler cannot handle! If the handler is worried than the dog becomes concerned as well. If we can remain calm, lighthearted and loose in the leash while we redirect the dog we stand a very good chance of preventing the situation from escalating.
Between each of our learning opportunities and leash exercises Zorro enjoyed some TTouches!
Jan has been incorporating TTouches into her quite time with Zorro. She has noticed that he will now lay calmly and play with a toy or just relax. This is a very new coping skill for Zorro!
Today we focused on walking nicely on the lead and used the Step-In Harness with the Super Balance Leash configuration. With the "Ask & Release" signals on the lead Zorro walked more calmly and with more intention than I've seen. When we have our bodys in proper alignment with his and our signals are clear he is right on target.
Today I used some clicker training with him to build the "Watch Me" and "Touch" requests. We were given the opportunity to practice these with a redirection when I saw someone approaching with a dog. Zorro focused on the dog in the distance and I stood to the opposite side and asked him to "Watch Me" and gave a click & treat when he complied. Next I asked him to "Touch" my hand as I took his focus in the opposite direction of the approaching dog. As we redirected Zorro's focus we also changed the direction of our walk. Rather than force Zorro into a situation where he may not be successful we walked him another way and built upon the success we already had with him taking his focus off the dog and putting it back on us.
Jan was very pleased with how Zorro didn't become vocal with the other dog. I'm pleased that Jan has a some new tools in her tool box for working with Zorro with other dogs. We also talked about what happens when we, the handler, tenses up on a leash when we anticipate trouble. That tension transmits down the leash and to the dog. The dog reads this tension as a stressful situation that the handler cannot handle! If the handler is worried than the dog becomes concerned as well. If we can remain calm, lighthearted and loose in the leash while we redirect the dog we stand a very good chance of preventing the situation from escalating.
Between each of our learning opportunities and leash exercises Zorro enjoyed some TTouches!
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