Musings on my own mutts
I've had a few clients lately with dogs who presented with issues similar to those I've been through with my own dogs. A couple of the issues were things I knew I could help with, but nonetheless were a little close to home. What I didn't expect was the realisation of how difficult my own dogs had been in comparison. For those who think you can't train using food or play to motivate your dog... well I was once in that position too, and to this day I still have to make a HUGE deal out of the food or game in order to make it reinforcing for my boy. For the first few years I had him (bearing in mind at that time I had no idea about anything behaviour or training related) if we were out walking he could not shift his focus to me. At all. Ever. He pulled so bad I had almost constant whiplash and his prey drive was out of control. Once I began learning about behavioural science and how to approach these issues we did begin to see improvements - BUT it took so friggin' long and it was an uphill battle getting him interested in interacting with me in the garden, let alone out on a walk.
I think it was about 18 months before he would consistently check in with me and take food when we were out walking. And about 2 years + before we were able to generalise that to other locations beyond our day to day routes.
Milo is a whippet / Jack Russle mix and is very impulsive when he sees things moving. He isn't a confident lad and it doesn't take much to put him over threshold, he is also scared of and defensive around other dogs and isn't keen on strangers. In all we had a lot of things to work on. Being able to develop a comfort zone for him outside the home, all be it a small one, was significant for him to start with.
Working with him to build his confidence and keep it is an ongoing journey and a case of constant re-assessment on a daily basis. His needs fluctuate by large variables from one day to the next and keeping him happy and relaxed is a balancing act. Too much exercise and he's grumpy tired or goes into overload due to not being able to process things properly, but not enough and he's wild with frustration/boredom. If he hits either of these opposites then getting and keeping his engagement is not the easiest task in the world. However, we're about as there with it as I expect we'll ever be and he is living a good life. He is happy and content the majority of the time, and if he isn't I do all in my power to change that for him.
The thing is though, with all of his little issues, they add up to a larger one. And while he is nowhere near as challenging as some dogs (such as our other dog Rita for example 😂 ) he's not been easy either. I think after working on the similar issues with other dogs it's only now I'm realising this as compared to our first dog he was a piece of cake..
The different it makes having a dog who is affection/food/play oriented is phenomenal. And when you get a dog who is super interested in two or even all 3 of these things it's basically like you've got yourself a unicorn!
For those of us with dogs who struggle more, get easily distracted, have high prey drive or are anxious / fearful to the point they can't focus or think about these things, it doesn't mean we have to give up on the idea of force-free training. It just means we need to break things down into more manageable 'projects' and maybe progress a little more gradually.
Food and play motivate all dogs. We just sometimes have to get creative about how we use them - and in some cases even teach them how to play or teach them how to feel comfortable about taking food from humans. But just because this may be a step that we didn't account for, it doesn't mean we can't use these ethical approaches to improve our dogs, and our own, lives.
So, in summary. My doggo was harder work than I ever knew, but I worked hard to gain the skills I needed to help him. I didn't realise this until I worked with other peoples food and play oriented dogs on the same issues and had almost instant results! But all the same, I would do it all over again. He is my world and worth every second of work (and whiplash) that went into his training and behaviour therapy. And I even got a new career out of it! ❤
Jen & Moo
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