Hector's "place" work

[Hector]

This is going to be lots of long boring videos of Hector working on the place command. He has issues controlling his excitement when he knows we're going out. A lot of it is vocal and general frantic/panic crazy behavior. It doesn't help that he's a nervous/anxious/fearful dog and it also doesn't help that I didn't work harder. I tried some things and it didn't work so I gave up. His main trigger is the opening of the door when he knows we're going out. He doesn't care if I'm going to work or going out alone. He knows the difference. This video you can see how excited he gets and this is not the worst. Up until 2:10 he starts to calm down because I went to sit down. 2:53 you can see his whole body shaking. This is just him trying to control himself. 3:10 - 5:20 I do some collar on/off exercises letting him know collar on does not mean going anywhere. Then 5:20 forward, I switch up the exercise and do on/off place and door threshold to try and get him to relieve some stress. Sorry for the dark video. [video=youtube;vE3UZB7giNo]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vE3UZB7giNo[/video]

 

[Hector]

Okay this is the second part to the first one: outside on the porch. Working on excitement control. This is a great video. You can see the actions of a true nervous/fearful/anxious dog. The first couple of minutes, I do some random testing. At 2:50 is when I sit and we work on duration. Look at how tense he becomes. Classic fear behavior from him. Notice how tense/frozen and how much he is staring at me. I'm not looking at him. If I do anything he finds scary, that's when the growls come in. 4:30 - 5:30 he is starting to relax. You can see more movement from him. Whining starts at 6:37 because he is getting impatient and he likes to whine. At 7:14 I get up because I know he is ready to pounce and he does what I expected. Give a verbal correction, some body pressure and I test him again at 8:59. We go for a walk shortly after. He is so stuck in a scared/nervous state of mind that he doesn't even react to the people walking by, cars pulling up, people getting in and out of cars (see background in video). Either that is the case on top of waiting to be released. In the beginning there was a lot of fear, but he calmed down near the end. We are working hard to attack the anxiety and hopefully this will solve my skateboard reactivity problem. [video=youtube;drxrnsENra8]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=drxrnsENra8[/video]

 

[EverythingEnglishMastiff]

You are a mean mommy. You should love Hec for who he is and not try to change him all the time! Of course, I'm kidding! :lolbangtable:

We know you are a good pet owner and you do lots of good work with Hec. He is a very good dog and with your help and guidance he is becoming even better! Thanks for the videos, I really enjoy them!

 

[Hector]

You are a mean mommy. You should love Hec for who he is and not try to change him all the time! Of course, I'm kidding! :lolbangtable: We know you are a good pet owner and you do lots of good work with Hec. He is a very good dog and with your help and guidance he is becoming even better! Thanks for the videos, I really enjoy them!

Thank you EEM. I never would have in a million years imagined that a dog would be this much work mentally and emotionally. I'm a simple person. I just wanted a good dog.

 

[EverythingEnglishMastiff]

He's a lot better than many many dogs I've had the pleasure or displeasure of meeting. A dog that can follow basic commands and apply a little duration to them is already leaps and bounds ahead of most people's dogs. There are a surprising amount of dogs that don't listen, they do what they want all day, and get fed for it. There are plenty right here in my neighborhood.

 

[Hector]

He's a lot better than many many dogs I've had the pleasure or displeasure of meeting. A dog that can follow basic commands and apply a little duration to them is already leaps and bounds ahead of most people's dogs. There are a surprising amount of dogs that don't listen, they do what they want all day, and get fed for it. There are plenty right here in my neighborhood.

That is true. I see posts all the time on facebook. Some are funny, but some are downright sad.

 

[JamieHalverson]

That is true. I see posts all the time on facebook. Some are funny, but some are downright sad.

No kidding - I see this all the time... my dogs aren't even close to where I want them to be, and we've really struggled with Yogi's seperation anxiety of late, yet people comment often on how well trained/behaved they are. I guess when the standard is so low, my dogs look awesome by comparison.

My in laws have two pits/am staffs that are totally out of control. They barely know place and have to be told 5 times to "sit". They jump up on company and basically act like crazy puppies at 4 and 7 years old. Their 80+ year old Mother comes to visit and brings the dogs cheese... they are allowed to run outside and jump all over her trying to get the stupid cheese while she's holding it above her head unwrapping it for them. This is because the family believes we should let "dogs be dogs", i.e. not robots we control. I've literally been asked why I want a robot dog... sigh.

 

[tmricciuto]

We are really working on training around here also. Watching lots of videos and working on different things without treats. It's so hard with two puppies to train them.

 

[EverythingEnglishMastiff]

Dogs can be dogs, in their own time and place. Like when they are outside and I'm inside lol.

I don't care if a dog is highly trained or not. I don't expect all people to train their dogs to freestyle dance to music. All dogs should at least have some manners/training indoors though. Outdoors its a little lax but they need to behave appropriately around people. It's a matter of safety for others and the dogs.

 

[JamieHalverson]

Dogs can be dogs, in their own time and place. Like when they are outside and I'm inside lol. I don't care if a dog is highly trained or not. I don't expect all people to train their dogs to freestyle dance to music. All dogs should at least have some manners/training indoors though. Outdoors its a little lax but they need to behave appropriately around people. It's a matter of safety for others and the dogs.

Agreed. I look at manners as a form of training as well, also impulse control, all the things that go into making a dog a good companion. Like you, I don't care if someone else "trains" in obedience or not or anything else for that matter, that's their choice. But making a dog a good member of society at the very least means training it not to be an ass...

 

[DennasMom]

I don't know how you EVER reprimand Hector... I'm a sucker for that cure face!!!! I'd be giving in to him in a heartbeat. He's such a good boy! Love the thumper tail going nearly non-stop in the videos, too.

Dogs should be dogs and kids should be kids...yeah, that doesn't always work in a polite society... ever read Lord of the Flies??

Denna gets to be more 'dog' around our house & yard, because we're comfortable with her doggie-ness... out in public or other people's homes, we expect her to be less dog, and more 'robot'. (LOL)... but, out in public I don't want to be yelling at her or being "mean"... so sometimes she gets away with stuff... and then I either look bad because I start being "mean" (harsh tones, or a leash pull) or because my dog starts behaving badly.... I'd rather I look bad than her. Denna does know when I'm serious (the mean mommie tone in my voice), so I normally don't have to be loud to get my point across.

We were at thanksgiving with family on Sunday, and the two kids in the house started yelling different commands at Denna (mostly "sit")... I quickly told them that Denna responds better to whispers than yells... which is TRUE... the kids stopped yelling (which helped EVERYONE relax a bit), and Denna was VERY good - paying attention and following their whispers.

 

[DennasMom]

...while at dinner, we attempted to get Denna to stay on her "place" (a blanket we brought from home)... she didn't do nearly as well as Hector... she "slugs" and "falls" off of her place regularly... and as soon as she's cleared the blanket, she figures she might as well just get up and go see what's happening in the kitchen.... Guess we need to practice, too!!

 

[JamieHalverson]

Hector is working SO hard in those videos. Good boy! It's really hard to overcome, or even manage, anxiety and fear in a dog. My first dog was a fear aggressive Rottweiler and Yogi has some separation anxiety and what seems to be some increasing "environmental sensitivity" according to our trainer. Not sure is that's just a fancy way of saying anxiety or not, lol.

Anyway, point being, I really appreciate what it takes for him and you to work through this.

 

[Hector]

...while at dinner, we attempted to get Denna to stay on her "place" (a blanket we brought from home)... she didn't do nearly as well as Hector... she "slugs" and "falls" off of her place regularly... and as soon as she's cleared the blanket, she figures she might as well just get up and go see what's happening in the kitchen.... Guess we need to practice, too!!

He has a pretty good stay. I can tell him to stay on the couch and feed the other dogs and then go outside and come back and he's still on couch lol. Place is the same, I can go use the potty and come back and he'll still be on it. He can also be on it for a long period say 30 minutes+ without making a fuss. It's when I want to take him out on a walk or go for a ride to run errands then everything goes to shit lol. It becomes a mad circus lol. I really enjoyed putting him on place when we eat. I don't have a big noggin taking in the hot food smells. It's hard to correct him because he really is a big softie, but we need to do this. He's mental.

 

[Hector]

Hector is working SO hard in those videos. Good boy! It's really hard to overcome, or even manage, anxiety and fear in a dog. My first dog was a fear aggressive Rottweiler and Yogi has some separation anxiety and what seems to be some increasing "environmental sensitivity" according to our trainer. Not sure is that's just a fancy way of saying anxiety or not, lol.Anyway, point being, I really appreciate what it takes for him and you to work through this.

It is very hard to live with a dog with what I call mental illness/emotional instability. Another forum member termed it special needs which I completely agree. He has always been a nervous dog. It was noticed from the week we got him. The hard part is figuring out how to help him and I think place will help him cope with some anxiety although he will blow up elsewhere due to the stress he's getting from these sessions and thank you for the kind words.

 

[Hector]

Today's work. For some reason I always do this when school's out lol. Lots of noises/activity going on especially with school being out and I live right next to a medical building. Today took less time, but I also used part of his meal. He loves working for food. He's picking this up very well, so my expectations are getting higher. His reactions when excited is getting more toned down, not crazy eyed moments. 00:19 a piece of kibble got away lol. Note, he either didn't notice or cared for it. 00:30 I go inside to get a new blanket to lay it in my car and also change my shoes and lock the door. 1:10 test: leaving to lay blanket in car. 2:39 test: get up fast like I'm leaving as he had trouble with it yesterday. 3:30 another get up fast and leave test. 3:50 stretching the legs. 4:42 test: collar adjustment and pick up leash. 5:18 test: apply leash pressure. 6:05 test: 1 last get up fast. DSCN4660 - YouTube

 

[Hector]

[video=youtube;Oce8InhW04U]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oce8InhW04U[/video]

 

[season]

Agreed. I look at manners as a form of training as well, also impulse control, all the things that go into making a dog a good companion. Like you, I don't care if someone else "trains" in obedience or not or anything else for that matter, that's their choice. But making a dog a good member of society at the very least means training it not to be an ass...

Well said....there is a big difference between being well trained and well behaved...I could care less how many tricks Solo can do and how many, in my opinion, pointless things he can do....I'd much rather he be well behaved. I compare it to that guy in the gym who can spin a basketball on his finger and look like a pro, but when it comes time to playing a game he is terrible.

 

[season]

Place is a beautiful thing....I'm glad to see more members here are starting to see the importance of it and how it can have a dramatic effect on your dogs. Salute!

 

[Boxergirl]

It is very hard to live with a dog with what I call mental illness/emotional instability. Another forum member termed it special needs which I completely agree. He has always been a nervous dog. It was noticed from the week we got him. The hard part is figuring out how to help him and I think place will help him cope with some anxiety although he will blow up elsewhere due to the stress he's getting from these sessions and thank you for the kind words.

It's a never-ending job for sure. I've upped my place work with Al too. Al needs structure in his life. We recently had some big changes and he's struggling with it. His anxiety is through the roof and I've had to really take steps back before we can move forward again. Place and other impulse control and focus work is helping. Sometimes though ... I just want a normal dog. He can make the other two *think* something is wrong even when it's not. Good thing they trust my opinion more than his. Lol.

The work you've put into helping Hector is apparent. He's lucky to have you. We really do learn the most from the difficult dogs and you're a better owner/trainer for having him.