training an automatic response
- Thread starter dogsarebetter
- Start date
once again, the LAT game could be very helpful here. steve has a ridiculous amount of desire to chase running dogs. when we started he'd lunge, scream, the whole bit. lots and lots of LAT dog starting at a distance where he could handle it, where he noticed and was interested, but where he didn't go over his threshold, fixate, and become unmanageable. we're talking rapid fire treats here. his eyes/ears start to turn toward the trigger, i c/t. it took some time to find that sweet spot, and then gradually, gradually we were able to get closer. he's still not where i want him to be, but we watched dogs run through the tunnel from about ten feet away at agility class, and while he was overexcited, he looked to me for his tug toy instead of looking to them, which is huge. we have played the game so many times now that he will often (not always, but often) self-interrupt the behavior and look at me. my job now is to make sure i acknowledge that and make a HUGE deal out of it.
changing this behavior in ruckus is totally possible. you have to be realistic, i think, in what you want to change it to, but most of all you need to understand that it will take time, it will take work,and that you need to start from the point where he's not losing his brain and gradually work closer to the trigger. that's the part i see so many people missing- you have to start far enough away that he's able to hear you, listen to you, and learn.
changing this behavior in ruckus is totally possible. you have to be realistic, i think, in what you want to change it to, but most of all you need to understand that it will take time, it will take work,and that you need to start from the point where he's not losing his brain and gradually work closer to the trigger. that's the part i see so many people missing- you have to start far enough away that he's able to hear you, listen to you, and learn.
The "look" or "watch" command works best for me. Counterconditioning is not sometrhing that comes overnight. You are gonna b doing a lot of work. But I'm sure that if you are here asking bout this you are dedicated. I have been using this with both dog aggression and leash reactivity on many cases and as long as the owner put in the footwork and reps it with the dog consistanly you will have great success. Also realize your own reaction beforehand sometimes you will anticipate a car coming and tense up on the leash therefore making the dog more reactive. Good luck with your training
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