broccolini
Well-Known Member
The behaviorist is coming out on Thursday for a two hour session.
In the mean time, I've been trying something new based on my observations of Athena and the input of other TM owners.
As I said before, the first thing we tried was counter-conditioning but because we have nothing to reward her with it wasn't very effective.
Then we tried a prong collar but it made her more aggressive. It's possible that eventually that would work. I was concerned that it would only continue to get worse so we went back to the martingale.
Leash corrections and forward movement was the next thing we went with. This was the most effective but she was still very concerned about the other dogs.
Lately, I've been just having her sit and allowing her to watch the other dogs. I'm not trying to make her stop focusing on them or making her move away. She has been a lot better with this method.
This morning, we went out and ran into four dogs. The first one was across the street, Athena just sat and watched him until he went out of sight.
She second was on a wooded trail that was only about five feet wide. That dog was barky and lunging. Athena sat nicely after one leash correction. She was still very focused on the dog but she didn't act out.
There was a woman jogging around the track with a beagle. We sat on the bleachers and watched them run by. Athena jumped toward him but only after D'Argo started barking. And she didn't go crazy.
On the way home, I saw a dog sitting in its yard with a leash on but nobody holding it. I took Athena across the street hoping the dog wouldn't notice us. It saw us and ran out. I had Athena sit again and she acted very reasonably. The other dog was young and playful and kind of wound up. When I tried to make Athena leave before the other dog was gone, she flailed around at the end of the leash. I stopped and she just sat and watched until the owners came out and took the dog back to their yard.
I don't know if this is the final solution but I certainly think it's better than having her continue to practice being aggressive. I'll pass this info on to the behaviorist and see what she has to say about it.
In the mean time, I've been trying something new based on my observations of Athena and the input of other TM owners.
As I said before, the first thing we tried was counter-conditioning but because we have nothing to reward her with it wasn't very effective.
Then we tried a prong collar but it made her more aggressive. It's possible that eventually that would work. I was concerned that it would only continue to get worse so we went back to the martingale.
Leash corrections and forward movement was the next thing we went with. This was the most effective but she was still very concerned about the other dogs.
Lately, I've been just having her sit and allowing her to watch the other dogs. I'm not trying to make her stop focusing on them or making her move away. She has been a lot better with this method.
This morning, we went out and ran into four dogs. The first one was across the street, Athena just sat and watched him until he went out of sight.
She second was on a wooded trail that was only about five feet wide. That dog was barky and lunging. Athena sat nicely after one leash correction. She was still very focused on the dog but she didn't act out.
There was a woman jogging around the track with a beagle. We sat on the bleachers and watched them run by. Athena jumped toward him but only after D'Argo started barking. And she didn't go crazy.
On the way home, I saw a dog sitting in its yard with a leash on but nobody holding it. I took Athena across the street hoping the dog wouldn't notice us. It saw us and ran out. I had Athena sit again and she acted very reasonably. The other dog was young and playful and kind of wound up. When I tried to make Athena leave before the other dog was gone, she flailed around at the end of the leash. I stopped and she just sat and watched until the owners came out and took the dog back to their yard.
I don't know if this is the final solution but I certainly think it's better than having her continue to practice being aggressive. I'll pass this info on to the behaviorist and see what she has to say about it.