PREFACE: The last time I mentioned anything here, it was merely to say that I'd adopted a dog, Maxwell. He's a terrier mix and a handful. Throughout my time with him, I've been working on rehabilitating his issues, which revolve around a hefty combination of dominance issues and fear-based aggression. I've had a LOT of great advice, not the least of which has come from my other dog-owning peers, See, KT, M and Em. This, along with reading training books and watching ridiculous but helpful shows like the Dog Whisperer, has allowed me to create a regime best suited for Max's issues. So far, here are the rules I use:
- Max never eats before me. I prepare his food along with my own and keep his dish in sight but in my possession until I've finished eating. Thereafter, he has to lay still and look at me calmly before he's permitted to eat. While he's eating, I stand over him or near him, pet him, put my hands near his food, and at any sign of discomfort from him, I remove his food and the process starts again.
- Max never walks in front of me. In the house, out of the house, doesn't matter. Currently, he's on leash even in the house, so if he gets ahead of me, he's immediately pulled back behind me and I don't continue moving until he's still and attentive.
- Everything is mine. Max's bones are mine, his toys are mine, his bed is mine. Anything he has can be taken away at any time. This is practiced frequently in order to reinforce this message. This remains his weak point. Especially off-leash in the house, he has a tendency to grab something he knows I don't want him to have and run off with it in order to challenge me.
- Max never chooses where he sits. I tell him where he can and cannot sit or lie down.
- All of the above is dependent on MY attitude. I must never lose my temper, yell or back down. I must be consistent and calm in the face of ANYTHING. This is my weak point, to be certain, and were I a flawless person with a very even temper and the ability to stick to things like glue, I'd probably have a perfect dog. The reality is, none of us are that perfect. But I am aware that my temper and frustration have a huge affect on Max's understanding of me as a leader. When I lose my temper, with him or even just with the dishes or the internet, we go back five steps almost instantly.
So that's where we're at. Since consulting M in-depth, I've decided to start writing about my training experiences with him. I'm talking about it all the time, so why not write about it! I've learned so much, and I think it's important to share.
M recently borrowed Maxwell for a couple nights, in an attempt to better learn what his issues are. Since then, Max has been on a much more strict regimine, and my resolve has been strengthened. Max is now on-leash and attached to me at all times in the house. This allows me to better police his behaviours and instill a consistent sense of submission in him. Before, when he'd be off leash in the house, he would have the opportunity to "win" by stealing something he wasn't supposed to have and running off with it. I would attempt to retrieve the item by cornering him, and this is when his fear aggression would take over. At times like that, there is no way to train a dog. When they've retreated into fearfulness, aggression or a combination thereof, there is nothing you can do to teach them about what is expected of them. With the leash on, I'm able to stop the behaviour before it escalates into a showdown. Even with the leash on, Max will still attempt to steal food or pens or bits of paper or cans. He still tries to jump up on counters, tabletops and people. The difference is that I have control. I can stop him as soon as I notice him fixating on something and preparing for what would follow. So that's helped a lot.
But what all of this comes down to is an attempt to assure Max that I'm the leader, that I know what's best, and that he doesn't have to worry about making those decisions himself. This is a vital part of popping his dominance bubble. As Cesar has said countless times, a dog practicing dominance is also a stressed out dog. And Max is a perfect case of that. He wants direction, but isn't always willing to be directed. Especially when he sees the person who would lead him to be a faulty or untrustworthy leader. This is where my own consistency and calm is important. On-leash, Max is not only easier to control, but I feel more confident in my ability to control him. This makes my attitude appear to him as calmer and more capable. The times when I would lose my temper with him are diminished, and this allows us to build a more trusting relationship. Because Max is a rescue with a bit of an abusive past, it is vital that he never see me as aggressive, but only dominant and calm. When he sees me as aggressive, his fear response kicks in and he won't learn from me or trust my leadership. These are things to keep in mind when working with ANY dog, abusive past or not.
So, on to today's breakthrough.
While Max is on-leash in the house and on walks, I still let him off-leash in safe outdoor areas away from roads to allow him to exercise. These times are also opportunities to build and test our relationship. So today, I took Max to such an outdoor area and let him off-leash. Up to this point, I had been using food rewards any time he was off-leash in order to ensure he'd return to me when I called. It's important to recognize that I've been doing this kind of positive enforcement for months. EVERY time I called him and he came to me, I would give him a treat. I would call him often for no reason, so that he wouldn't associate my call with instantly being put back on-leash. This has been really useful in building trust, but the little bugger's smart, and often WON'T come when I call if he knows I have no reward. Any time a dog like Max gets to choose whether or not to listen to a command, that feeds his little furry ego, and that ain't good. It's important that a dog recognize your word as a reward in and of itself, because that means he respects you as a leader. So today, I aspired to instill in him that, reward or no, following my lead was important. I still had treats in my pocket as a back-up, but that was more for me than for him it transpired. I let him off-leash after walking him on-leash around the whole perimeter of the area. I changed directions often, so that his focus was on me, and got him to sit and lie down at irregular intervals or if he was particularly distracted by something. As soon as Max is off-leash, he bolts around sniffing, but because of the relationship we've built, he looks at me frequently. Without bribery, however, he is unlikely to come when called. So I tried something new. As soon as he bolted away, I called his name and then turned my back to him and walked with INTENT away from him. He would then start bolting in the direction I was walking. AS SOON as he got ahead of me, I would call his name again and change directions. After a couple trips around the park this way, he was glued by my side with his eyes on me, wondering what the heck was going on. Shortly after we'd reached that point, another dog approached the park from up ahead. He was behind me, snuffling around, and I heard his feet accelerate toward the dog. This is the kind of time that even a treat reward would normally not work. I turned towards him quickly, said his name sharply, and walked towards him with my arms out. He stopped dead in his tracks and lay down. Victory! He knew what I expected of him, and he knew that the other dog, however fascinating, was my turf and I would decide how he would interact with him. I was able to calmly put his leash on and he walked perfectly the rest of the way home.
Changing direction can be an excellent way to get his attention. On the walk home, I practiced the same technique in lower-case. He's usually pretty good at heeling on-leash, but often doesn't seem to have his head in the game. He snuffles around and stares at people or dogs across the street. With his mind allowed to wander, it's often too late for me to intervene in his behaviour before it moves into aggressive mode. It also means that he can convince himself that I'm not leading him, which enforces his dominance. So while walking him, I took note of where his little nose was pointing. Even if he was just snuffling the dirt, I would move him, behind me, to the other side, placing myself between him and whatever he was even remotely interested in. This helped him keep his focus on me and on the walk itself. It also meant that he didn't have time to think about dogs passing by, or a gaggle of kids on recess. And it enforced that whatever it is, I'm in charge of how he relates to it.
So yeah! That's today's story. Except that while I was writing this, I was eating a nice greasy hashbrown. Instead of protecting the food from him the way I normally would, I put the food on the floor. He went right for it at first, but a sharp no made him stop dead, and he then gave me a bubble of about two feet for the rest of the time I was eating! This is the first time I've done this, and I can't believe how logical it is, but now I'm going to practice that all the time, until all food everywhere is safe, because it'll be considered mine until proven otherwise.
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