Hi
I've had Fee for 5 weeks now, his behaviour is improving ... still a way to go but definitely going the right direction so here's what I'm doing. Please excuse the list but it's late and I need my sleep ...LOL
He is terrified of most other dogs and of people on horses (not too keen on horses either LOL -I have horses)
so I try not to frighten him by meeting/seeing other dogs unless I can control the situation so make it OK for him. If I try something and he can't cope I go back a step or two till he can cope then I move forward.
I feed him raw and his treats are as natural as I can find just in case he is hyped up by anything he eats ... worth a try, you can always change their food back.
I took him to my vet because he is a chiropractor and Fee's back needed a lot of tweaking, my theory is with most of these reactive dogs that they carry injuries or the memory of pain. When they see something that worries them they tense up, it hurts and they link the pain with that dog or person or whatever ...
My vet also gave him a homeopathic remedy for fear turning into aggression.
I do TTouch, he loves it and asks for it daily so I do a little bit most days just to relax him and teach him to be relaxed
I walk him at 5.30am mainly cos I start work at 7am but at that time I hardly ever meet another dog on the street so he's starting to relax a little about walking the roads. I wish the ****ing cats and squirrels were not out cos he's keen to hunt which is a b***dy nightmare cos I have to walk Lucy grey too and she's manic to hunt too. If I had the time I'd walk them separately.
He wears a TTouch bodywrap,a face wrap, a Eurohike harness cos he's strong and powerful when he kicks off. I have a double ended lead attached to the clip on the back of the harness and the front ring not on a collar or halti etc .We find in TTouch if you take the pressure off the neck and head they become less reactive. I loop the spare lead round his chest as a 'balance lead' which gives me more control but I don't pull against him - it's just there when I need it.
I don't let him walk a straight line as I find he sets into the harness and pulls so we walk S shapes up the road or even into the road and back out - it keeps him listening to me too (a bit LOL) as I'm asking him to move rather than him getting into a habit of charging off.... and of course he's not listening at all when he's pulling
I've used the clicker with him so at my horses' field I click and reward when he looks at the horses and doesn't react and also when he looks and/or turns away from the three barking dogs who live in the house next to the field. I've been able to use the dogs to train Fee, I walked parallel a long way from them and got nearer still using the clicker ... if he reacted I just moved away from them till I was at his 'safe' distance where he could walk to and fro past them. I can ask him to stand and do the ttouches to calm him while he watches the barking dogs.
He's come to dog training with me, he stayed in the back of the car where he can see and hear me in the hall then as Wednesday is a small class I walked him in at the end when everyone is at the far end of the hall and again used the clicker to reward him being calm and him looking at the others but keeping relaxed. I also asked him to watch me a bit and sit and walk with me etc He was very brave and didn't kick off at all but I keep my sessions really short and make them as successful as I can .
I exercise him where he won't see other dogs such as my horses field and at the riding club. On two cooler days he had some off lead in the arena and was really good, I like them to have off lead to run off their energy but it's been too hot so I've used dog toys and Kongs etc to get him to use his brain.
When I go home if I can't park very close to my house (rarely) I drop him off rather than walk him up the road and maybe see other dogs.
We were at a greyhound fun day today so I parked away from everyone with a gazebo over my car, coolcoats and mats on the dogs and sheeted up his window so he couldn't see the close cars. He settled and lay down but I got him out before most people came and when most had gone and I walked him round the car park, used the clicker and he was able to cope with looking at dogs a distance away which was very good - he also had a wee as well which was great as he can usually only toilet in the garden. He bounced barking once at two dogs that were a bit closer but it wasn't as manic as he was and he was happy to bark as we walked away rather than lunge manically at them .. I want him more confident before I start asking him to cope with other dogs tho he seems to be able to cope with greys.
I try to keep relaxed- not easy but I make sure I'm taking breaths so not tensing up and I try to make sure I set up situations so Fee will be successful.
I try to keep him away from the front window at home as he barks horribly at dogs going past so he's reinforcing that barking sends scarey dogs away ... unfortunately he can jump really well so all my barricades are a bit useless but I keep some treats with me and when he's run to the window I give him a moment then call him and reward that too.
I crate him when I'm at work as he was ferocious at other dogs and cats and I was worried that Lucy would end up hurt as she thinks cats should be exterminated too so I didn't want any redirected aggression. The great thing is that he loves the crate and is relaxed in it so whilst I'd prefer him out of it -whilst we're all settling down it's very useful and helps him.
Sorry to ramble on, hope this helps a bit.Good luck with Moose
Fee sends lots of love to Mandy and Lisa
Julie
PS I'm doing the TTouch Groundwork in my spare time with him to help him focus and be co-ordinated
