Good morning. Today’s post is to provide clarity about one of Ben’s issues:  Human reactivity.

I have stated several times that I have been told – meaning: others have told me – that Ben is “color-reactive”.  At no time have I ever personally used that term.  Because, for one thing, there’s no such thing as color reactivity, and secondly, dogs are not and cannot be racist. Racism is a highly complex brain process only humans possess. As I’ve said a thousand times already, dogs are all about energy and body language; how a dog acts around a human is dependent upon what kind of energy or vibration that human is emitting. Color has nothing to do with it.

Having said that (and hopefully, clearing up any remaining confusion), I met with a couple yesterday who kindly volunteered to help me work with Ben’s apparent “color” issue. This was the result:

Ben is reactive – yes, he is. But only to human men – and only to men who give him direct eye contact for too long, and who do not present calm energy. There is no color issue. There never was. His experiences in Mexico centered around abusive human males. But I have taken Ben into places where there are people of all colors – some of them, brown-skinned – and he did not become reactive to them. They spoke with me, they looked at him but did not stare at him, we had a nice conversation… and Ben was just fine.  He did show nervousness when a store manager, who is white (Caucasian), gave him prolonged direct eye contact. But when I told the man Ben is reactive and he stopped looking at Ben, Ben settled down again.

I’ve been told Ben is reactive to young children. I’ve introduced him to my granddaughters, and he had no problem with them. He did show a little too much interest in some toddlers yesterday during the session with Jared and Jacqueline [the people in the video above], but he was immediately redirected, and he was fine. The same thing happened when a man brought his small dog close to where we were; Ben started fixating, he had to be redirected a few times, but eventually, he settled down and relaxed.

Ben is making really good progress. Yesterday was a huge victory for him. He is finally breaking free of the chains that have bound him for so long.

Have a great day, and remember to stay calm and lead on…

Our days start at 4:30am. From the time he wakes up until the time he is kenneled for the night – between 8:30pm and 9pm – Ben gets countless opportunities to learn how to be part of a pack. Throughout the day, he makes and often repeats mistakes (targeting and trying to attack), but each time he’s corrected and he shows that he’s trying to change his behavior, he comes a micro-step closer towards being accepted by the pack. Violet has been trying to help by making an appearance in the same large room he’s in, and Glimmer has been helping by showing him what “calm” looks like. He does not watch her very much yet – his ability to focus is only good when he’s targeting Violet or food – but he’s slowly starting to learn that when she behaves a certain way, she gets affection. Ben is a very loving dog who wants the same thing and he’s trying very hard to relax enough to watch what she does to earn that reward.

In between those learning times, Ben is taken for walks so that he can learn how to walk nicely, how to relax, and how to trust the human walking him to have his back and keep him safe. He still pulls on the leash, and he has a tendency to weave from side to side, but he is slowly getting better … provided the leash is kept short and relaxed. He does not do well with and is not ready for a longer lead outside of the yard.

Ben’s two biggest core issues are an inability to relax, and an inability to trust. These two problems are the source of all his other issues. Because of how his life has conditioned him, trust and relaxation are extremely difficult for him to give.

But, Ben is learning. To many, it may not seem like he’s making headway, but that’s because the ways he’s showing me that are so subtle that even I sometimes miss them. So, we keep plugging away, micro-step by micro-step. This boy needs a lot of work, and a lot of his victories are going to be microscopically small until he reaches a point where he feels safe and secure enough to give more.

Today, Ben is going to the spa for the special bath that helps his skin and foot, and getting his very long toenails trimmed back. Then, it’s off to the pet store for a muzzle (that’s another story), a warm sweater for cold days, a new leash, more bison hocks for Glimmer and Ben, and more food for Glimmer.  Tomorrow, I’m meeting with another trainer who has offered to help me work on Ben’s reactivity to men and to specific color. That’s going to be a rather interesting exercise…

Have a great day and a great weekend, and remember to stay calm and lead on….

Ben has been with us for a week now. He is making progress in some areas, but in others, he is still highly reactive and outright aggressive. Food is a serious trigger: When food is present and Violet or Glimmer gets too close, Ben goes from being calm straight into red-zone and he attacks. He doesn’t even warn first. He just attacks.

The walks are getting a little easier, but Ben is still chewing on the leads. I have two long-lines and a 4-foot lead; he’s chewed through one long-line, and last night, he tried to break the second one. He has also tried to chew through my 4-foot lead, which is wider and heavier. He does not like being restricted or controlled in any way.

Where basic obedience is concerned, Ben is doing very well with “sit”, “wait”, “gentle”, and “here”. On the walk, he’s learning “walk nice”. This is the equivalent of the “heel” command, and it serves as a mild but effective correction when he starts pulling. The “down”/”lay down” command is a real challenge: Ben refuses to do it, even when he’s offered a food reward. What this tells me is that he still doesn’t trust; he will not agree to anything that asks him to take a submissive position. However, if I ask him to lay down on the couch or love-seat, he complies very quickly. This tells me that he has negative associations with being in the down position on the ground itself.

Where kenneling is concerned, Ben has shown intense anxiety to a degree where he’s almost hurt his front paws in his desperation to get out. Standard kennel-training techniques did not help him – they only made things worse. The last technique I had in my skill-box, however, has made a big difference. I’ve been giving him a bison hock to chew on when he has to be kenneled. The bone allows him to vent out the anxiety and stress of being confined, it’s good for his teeth, it relaxes him, and best of all, he’s learning to associate the kennel with calmness and relaxation. When it’s time to release him, Ben must be calm and quiet, and he must wait until he’s invited out. I’m happy to say that he’s been doing an excellent job with that exercise.

Ben is still highly unpredictable where Violet, our cat, is concerned. Sometimes, he can be around her and he’s fine; other times, she just comes into view and he targets and tries to attack her. Because of this ongoing issue, Ben is not allowed off the leash unless he is in a room with me and the door is closed.

Outdoors, Ben is targeting the fence to see if he can jump it. As a result, when we are outside, he is on lead and kept a safe distance away from the fence.

When he is feeling frustrated, Ben tends to get quite mouthy. He doesn’t actually bite, but he does apply pressure when he mouths. His tendency is hands, but he will sometimes mouth knees, as well, if the person is sitting down.

Ben also has an issue with being disrespectful by not giving space. He continues to try to get behind our backs when he’s sitting with us on the couch or love-seat, and when he is denied, he becomes more pushy and will try to force his way into the space. This results in a correction and his removal from the couch or love-seat. He also practices this behavior when he wants affection. He forces his body right onto the person he wants the affection from, which creates tension for the human, which in turn creates excitement and further efforts from Ben to get his way.

Ben is a very loving dog, but he has little to no respect for rules, boundaries, and limitations. With him, it’s his way or the highway (so to speak). Building trust with him is made all the more challenging because he can’t trust and he doesn’t respect humans. His life has conditioned him to be this way, and helping him learn how to live with humans in peace, respect, and trust is going to take a very long time.

Work on all of these issues is continuing. Ben is making good progress in some areas, but he still needs a lot of work in others. With time, patience, calmness, and consistency, he will eventually become happy and more balanced…