A Calming Technique?

I will let her sit by golly!

I know that ideally she should be taught to work no matter what the distractions. But since she is not being trained for a competition and it is a safety issue for us and for her, I think we are better off going with the flow than against it. If sitting keeps her calm, then so be it. :smile2:
 
Lahree said:
I will let her sit by golly!

I know that ideally she should be taught to work no matter what the distractions. But since she is not being trained for a competition and it is a safety issue for us and for her, I think we are better off going with the flow than against it. If sitting keeps her calm, then so be it. :smile2:
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I sit or down my dogs to settle them down. They are more control positions. With my JRT mix Jazz, sitting was her chill out position, standing or moving she would continue to build excitement until she reacted be it to another dog or small animal.
 
SheepOfBlue said:
I did see him get all four off the ground in a bark the other day though :lol:.
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Ah yes, the 'launching' bark, one of Deska's favourites, I swear he will take off one of these days. He is particularly good at the launching with a twist bark - that's all fours in the air with a spin on the end for emphasis!
 
Calliesmom said:
I read somewhere that dogs can't bark if they are lying down- not sure that is really true :confused2:
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Haha, this was a debate at our last obedience class. Our trainer said that MOST dogs won't bark if they're laying down. All the the sheltie people in the class (4 of us) instantly started laughing. All of our dogs bark while they're laying down.

That being said, the trainer said that laying down is a much calmer state than standing or sitting, even if your dog does manage to bark while laying down, like mine. :rolleyes2:

Anyway, if you haven't already tried this, could you desensitize Ellie to the traffic? Maybe take her for a good run and tire her out, then take her near an intersection and sit with her while she lies down? Then maybe she'd associate traffic with being calm.

While you're doing this you could practice an attention game with her. I put treats in my hand and praise my girls for looking at me and not at the treat. I move my hands around and give them treats for looking at me. I gradually space out the giving of treats by making them hold my gaze for longer periods of time and ignoring the treats.
 
OntarioSheltie said:
Anyway, if you haven't already tried this, could you desensitize Ellie to the traffic? Maybe take her for a good run and tire her out, then take her near an intersection and sit with her while she lies down? Then maybe she'd associate traffic with being calm.
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Funny you should mention this. This week Deska has had ample opportunities to chase cars in his favourite spot (carparks) and he has looked and growled but not chased! This is real progress and I think it is because he had a good run on this weekend with 3 days of competitions. I really do think he gets a lot of satisfaction out of running really fast when he chases the car so when he has another avenue for going at top speed, while he is still fascinated and tempted, I can more easily refocus him. Definately give tiring her out before taking her near cars a try.
 
When we went through obedience class with Ellie, that trainer said the same thing--that dogs won't bark when sitting or lying down. I saw many of the dogs in that class bark and growl while sitting and lying down, lol. Ellie didn't and I haven't seen her do it. Probably because we can't get her to sit or lie down without a treat or a leash, lol. However, when she is sitting, she is an attention magnent. It even works at the dog park when there are other dogs walking by. She pays absolutely no attention. However, when we are walking and another dog is coming toward us, then it's bonkers time. I am anxious to see how she will behave at the dog park since the board and train. I will wait, however, until I am fully confident that her screaming has stopped. Could you image how many phone are on speed-dial to the ASPCA? :lol:
 
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