Gizmo, Lesson 3
Last night’s session with Gizmo was awesome. The next-door neighbor came to sit out on her balcony and watch us. Her three very large dogs came with her. The neighbor beside her was out in his front yard, alternately barbecuing and visiting with his family – which included a very large chocolate lab and several children ranging in age from babies to about 4 years old. Not only did Gizmo do a phenomenal job practicing self-control when he had to deal with those triggers, but, for the first time, he gave his owner trust by doing his best to stay focused on her. It was a huge leap of progress for him, and for Chelsea. She didn’t realize what was happening because she was focusing on controlling her own anxiety – which was a huge leap of progress for her, too.
Chelsea gets very anxious with Gizmo. She is terrified that the situation that resulted in Gizmo’s injury will happen again, and that her responses will be the same. This anxiety is then transferred to him through the leash, which she tends to hold very tightly and as far up as possible. When she does that, Gizmo responds by pulling ahead of her and then becoming extremely reactive towards everything and everyone that comes too close to them or looks at them for too long. Chelsea represents weak and unstable energy, and Gizmo has no choice but to take the lead.
Although it’s only been three sessions, Chelsea is making great progress learning how to be aware of what she’s feeling, and learning how to take control of those emotions. She’s learning that she is the source of Gizmo’s reactivity, and that the only option she has with him is to become calm, and stay calm. In return, Gizmo is working hard to look to her for direction and to stay focused on her no matter what’s going on around them. He is trying to give her trust.
Gizmo and Chelsea both have a very long way to go in their rehabilitation. But they both are making tremendous progress, and as long as Chelsea puts in the time and energy to keep working on herself and with Gizmo, that progress will continue.
Have a great day, and remember to stay calm and lead on.
Lacey Learning
As of this posting, Lacey “Little” is nearly 19 months old. She’s been in training for about 18 months, having started when she was about 8 weeks old and boarding with me for the first couple of months after her people bought her. Over the last 18 months, Lacey has sometimes been a real challenge; she’s a high-energy, extremely intelligent dog, and when she gets bored, she gets vocal, she misbehaves, and she sometimes gets destructive. Keeping her interested in her lessons has definitely kept me and her people on our toes. While her breed is still in question, we know for sure that she’s definitely born to be a working dog.
Last night, I worked with Lacey and Tanya, her pregnant person. We went on a training walk. Lacey did an “okay” job with the basic exercises (sit-stay, down-stay, wait, and recall), but with the loose-leash exercise, she kept pulling ahead of Tanya and pulled to investigate scents that distracted her. We also encountered a couple with three Pomeranians, all of which were well ahead of their owners and which were barking loudly at us and pulling hard to get to us as they got closer. Lacey was put into a sit-stay on my left so the other dogs could pass us on the right. When they were only a couple of feet away, she broke the position and then tried to pull towards them to greet them.
As a Therapy animal, Lacey must stay focused on her human charge. She must not respond to or get distracted by other dogs or people. As a Therapy animal to an autistic child, this is critical. So, when the other dogs were nearly right beside us and Lacey broke position and pulled to greet them, I was more than a little disappointed, because she knows better.
So, we have to go back a few steps. She needs consistent, daily practice with distractions, focus, and loose-leash walking. She needs regular exposure to other dogs to help her master those tasks. Until she consistently practices ignoring those things regardless of where she is, she is not ready for the Therapy Animal certification test.
However, while she isn’t ready for the Therapy Animal test, Lacey is ready for the CGN (Canine Good Neighbor) test. She meets all the requirements for it and there is no doubt that she will pass it. When Tanya is ready to register her for the exam, it will be my great pleasure to record the event and post the results.
Have a great day, everyone, and remember to stay calm and lead on.
Happy Dawgs Obedience Training 