Clean Run - July 2019 - 20

change how your dog feels about other
dogs. We are trying to teach your dog
to have a new, positive relationship with
dogs. He does not have to be friends
with them, but we don't want him to get
upset every time he sees a dog. Make
sure to save the really good treats for
outside, such as meatballs, cheese, hot
dogs, turkey, chicken, roast beef, steak,
burger, etc.
What to do:
* Be aware of your dog's threshold and
do your best to honor it. The ideal
training situation is to be far enough
away that your dog notices the other
dog but is not upset by it. This is the
most impactful way to help your dog
feel more comfortable and settled
when he sees other dogs because his
physiological state is more receptive
to learning than if he's over threshold. While the key is to try to stay
sub-threshold, sometimes life happens, especially at agility trials and
on the streets of New York City, so
we will discuss how to deal with that.
* Every time your dog sees a dog, start
feeding him little pieces of meatballs (or whatever yummy treat you
choose to use). You want to deliver
a stream of meatballs-give him one
treat after another, after another, after another- until he no longer sees
the other dog, or the other dog has
moved more than the sub-threshold
distance away.
* Feed your dog continuously, even if
he is barking and lunging at the dog.
You are not rewarding the lunging,
but instead building an association
between the meatballs and the other
dogs. For the association to be strong
and clear, you must feed your dog
when he sees a dog, regardless of his
behavior. Ideally, you want to start
feeding before the reactivity starts
(if the other dog ends up being too
close to you), so get the treat stream
started the instant you are sure your
dog sees the other dog. Get the meat
directly in front of his face. If he is
lunging, you might have to pull back
on the leash to reach his face with
the meat.
* Praise should be linked to the food
reward, so talk to your dog in a hap20

py tone when you see another dog.
He will start to make the connection
that you are relaxed and happy when
you see another dog.
* Try to stay calm. Breathe, chew gum,
sing-do whatever you have to in
order to stay calm. Your dog will
sense if you are stressed, especially if
you hold your breath in anticipation
of lunging. And do not pull up on
the leash when you see another dog,
which could communicate tension to
your dog.
* You might have to increase the distance between your dog and the
trigger to help your dog remain subthreshold and be responsive to you.
Encourage your dog to move with
you in the opposite direction of the
trigger or behind a visual barrier by
talking in a happy tone. Remain calm
but be quick about moving away. You
might have to gently tug your dog
away if he's not moving with you on
voice alone because he might be too
worried about the trigger.
* Over time, the distance between
your dog and his trigger will be able
to decrease. Your dog will tell you
when he's ready. Do your best to
manage his environment so that you
can successfully practice the steps
above without your dog erupting in
barking or lunging.
* Keep practicing these steps until you
notice a change in your dog's reaction. Instead of reacting in his usual
way, he will turn to you with a relaxed
and anticipatory expression as if to
say, "Hey mom, see that? Where's my
meatball?" This is the conditioned
emotional response (CER) that you
are looking for. When your dog is
consistently doing this whenever he
sees his trigger sub-threshold, you
know you're ready to move forward
in this process.
Assess and Reassess
Make sure to regularly check in on the
progress you are making with your dog.
The following questions are designed to
help you become more aware of what
your dog is saying with his body and
actions before he reacts (becomes upset,
wants to flee, shuts down):

* What have you discovered that you
need to manage that you haven't
been?
* How has your management improved?
* At what distance from the trigger
will your dog eat? Seem relaxed?
* Will your dog play with you? At
what distance? (Remember, you can
play with toys or food.)
* How have you increased the challenge for your dog to continue building his threshold? Can you move
closer to the trigger? Can your dog
feel less stressed around multiple
triggers?
* Have you practiced and had success
in different environments?
* Have there been any incidents of
reactivity?
* Don't forget to allow the dog to look
at the trigger if he wants to. Are you
doing this?
Take the Show on the Road
Once your dog has mastered the core
games from my second article that
you have been training and practicing-Chill Out, shadow handling, Go to
Your Mat, and hand target-it's time to
test your dog's ability to perform these
games around distractions, and in some
cases, in the face of triggers when subthreshold.
In the many years I have been working
with behavior clients, I have seen dogs
significantly improve when traditional
counterconditioning and desensitization
is used symbiotically with games-it
is a natural event that occurs when the
games are played in the face of triggers.
The games themselves become reinforcing for the dog and help to hold the
dog's focus while building value for you.
You might have to go into the real world
or a trial-like environment, depending
on your dog's triggers. A safety component to consider is to work with physical
barriers around you when possible, such
as fences, ring gates, or cars. These barriers can help create distance between
your dog and the trigger. This isn't
always necessary for every dog-there
is a wide range of anxiety levels in the
Clean Run | July 19

Clean Run - July 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Clean Run - July 2019