In order to build a strong stable nervous system you need to expose your dog to all sorts of experiences at a very young age, before four to six months old. Neither one of my dogs were socialized properly as puppies and as a result, are afraid of most things new or foreign. Exposing them to new situations is difficult and often unpredictable because of their lack of experience with common stimulus. Introducing a puppy to new things is fun, but introducing an anxious one and a half year old, or adult dog, to something new and exciting is not only difficult, but scary for both parties. I have done a lot of reading on desensitization and in the beginning of training Holly and Miko, I figured I would slowly and systematically expose my dogs to the things they were unfamiliar with, thus desensitizing them to their triggers. Little did I know that between the two of them, they are reactive to pretty much everything that moves and makes noise. On a daily basis they react to dogs, men, cats, birds, bikes, skateboards, motorcycles, trucks, lawn mowers, hair driers, vacuum cleaners and anything on wheels, including wheelchairs. Taking the two of them for a walk is hard work and I found it wasn't enjoyable for me. To turn things around I needed to work on a few basic foundation behaviors and bring some stability into our lives.The behaviors that I now work on daily are COME, LOOK, TOUCH (or targeting) , DOWN, SIT, QUIET (or settle), as well as HEEL. I practice some of these commands in the house, looking out the window, in the back yard as people and dogs go by, as well as on our low stress walks. I can now walk both dogs, side by side, in a heel position, sitting on each corner in a controlled fashion. They don't pull me (very often) and walk on a loose leash (unless a dog or the mailman goes by). That might sound like an easy feat to some, but to owners of fear aggressive dogs, it can be a long road to enjoying a walk with "man's best friend". In fact, most people with fear aggressive dogs walk them at odd hours, when no distractions are present and a when they can avoid situations that leave them and their dogs rattled. I don't ever expect my dogs to be perfectly behaved or "off leash", but I do plan to enjoy the time I spend walking them. The foundation to successful rehabilitation of a fear aggressive dog is developing strong default behaviors, like the ones I have listed below, which can be taught through LOTS of repetition and LOTS of patience. Keep at them and DON"T GIVE UP on your dog!
COME: This is the most important command to work on. It can be used to pull a dog out of a dangerous situation. For fear aggressive dogs, a strong come default will save you much grief and could save you from unfortunate incidents, especially when you see something potentially scary and can avoid it by calling your dog to safety. I practice treating for COME every day so that when I need it, my dogs have an automatic and solid response to it and know it means good things to will follow.
LOOK: Most problems in training begin because the dog doesn't understand what the handler wants from it, or it is simply too distracted. The first step in communicating what you want from your dog is to get the dog's attention. Many times other distractions overshadow the handler's commands because the dog isn't paying attention to him or her. LOOK is an easy way to teach your dog to give you its focus. A strong look default will assure that you can get and keep your dog's attention when you most need it. Another form of "look" is name recognition. When you call your dog's name, you need it to look at you!
TOUCH: Teaching your dog to touch your hand or a target stick reliably, on command, is a good way to redirect it from a potentially reactive situation. Practice this command when there are no distractions and you can eventually use it to bridge many behaviors that will come in handy in the future. I use it to redirect my dogs after an outburst. I want to treat them for returning to calm behavior, but need something to separate the incident. By asking them to target my hand, it prevents me from accidentally reinforcing barking or lunging, because I need to treat them for ceasing the aggression and move on.
DOWN: As hard as it is to teach, an emergency down command can save your dog's life. It begins with practicing basic down commands in playtime, progressing to using a stern voice "DOWN" followed by praise and play. The point is to develop a strong and fast reaction to your voice...especially your panic voice. I do "downs" throughout the day in different tones of voice...even yelling it from a distance. It isn't abusive to bark a command at your dog in emergencies. They bark all the time! By practicing the word DOWN in a loud voice, you can be sure it will work when it really counts. (Don't give up on this one!)
SIT: If you can get your dog to sit, it can't jump or lung. (It is particularly useful for dogs who jump up). I use this for Holly when I position her facing away from her triggers. Sometimes I will go as far as holding her between my legs in a sit, so she can't look at the scary thing as it passes. It is always better to lure the dog away from the trigger, but in some cases, this is not possible and a strong sit will give me time to get my knees ready to block Holly from aggressing. I often put myself between the scary thing and the dog to physically block the reaction as well as visually block the stimulus.
QUIET: This is something I practice in the window of my living room for an hour or more a day. It can also be given as a "settle" or any word you prefer to use as a command. My dogs love to look out at the coming and goings of the neighbourhood. I keep a clicker handy and an ear cocked to ward off any window antics and to award any good behavior. I use the clicker as a marker for good quiet responses and as an interruptor of bad behavior (click and treat before they can start barking), as well as, as bridge to reward (to buy me a couple seconds of time to get the treat out). The trick is to award the calm quiet actions and redirect the barking into calm quiet behaviors, like sit or touch.
HEEL: Not to be confused with "walking on a loose leash"! My dogs must heel a block to earn a block of loose leash sniffing. It teaches them that they can have access to a good sniff, while working on a strong heel. The HEEL command is necessary in getting them through any social situation, be it walking down the sidewalk with men approaching, or allowing a cyclist to pass. This also allows me to walk calmly on the other side of the road, while a dog passes. Admittedly, I cross the street if I see a dog approaching (unless I am walking just one dog or the other). Together, two 65lb dogs can easily pull me off my feet. Miko wants to play and Holly wants to fight. I need a reliable heel to keep things under control.
ON and OFF game: Although this isn't a default exercise, it is a method of strengthening behaviors by adding distractions in a controlled way. I play with my dogs in the yard and get them really excited, (game ON) then ask them to quickly turn it OFF. I ask for a default behavior like sit, or down and make them settle down for treats. This is for practice in controlling their emotions and energy levels. By teaching them to turn their energy ON and OFF, I prepare them for settling down when they are over excited. It also allows me to figure out how quickly and under what circumstances I can expect them to settle down.
PRE-MACK Theory: This is a method of teaching more than a behavior. It works on the premise that you get your dog to perform a default in order to gain access to something or the freedom to do something. It is sometimes called the Grandmother Rule: "eat your veggies first!" I use it to strengthen desired behaviors by rewarding them with something the dogs really want, like sniffing when we are on a walk. In allowing the dogs a controlled amount of what they desire, it makes the desire to sniff less novel. They know that they will be allowed to sniff to their hearts content, as long as they heel for a block or even just as we cross a busy street. This can be applied to so many thing and is a great way to teach a default.
After months of training, unfortunately, Miko is still afraid of strange men and Holly is still afraid of other dogs. However, they are improving and learning to calm down on command. Instead of flooding them with their triggers while out and about (as I had done in the past with poor results). I now work on them at home and around my house without distractions, to build foundation behaviors which are incompatible with fear and aggression. I map out areas that are less stressful for the dogs. I keep the routes to low level exposures to their triggers. This way I can work on building up their threshold or tolerance to stimulus, rather than bulldozing through their fears in hopes of overcoming them. I concentrate on teaching them good behaviors and building the attention span, that they need to possess in order to feel more confident and calm in the face of perceived danger. I realized, not only had my dogs not been exposed to many types of things, people and stimulus, they had not been taught basic good manners and proper coping mechanisms. Before I could teach them to not react, I had to teach them what to do in place of reacting. I can't convince them not to be afraid of scary men and approaching dogs, but I can teach them to do something other than aggress.
