Koji goes "on patrol", help!

Beau is like this as well, though not to your extreme.

I'm at least able to accommodate him. He seems to do better during the day, than at night, so I take him out for his first walk around 7am. He pees/poops in the park and then we go for our first long walk.

After breakfast I wait til around 9 am and take him out for another long walk.

Again around 1:30. So, he might see some people, which he's great with people. Generally, okay with kids, though he's getting scared of them again, because of my neighbors.

7 pm I just take him to a tree to pee and he just turns around and runs back into the house. He's not interested in socializing. (of course on a leash) unless, his first best friend he made Ryan is outside. He's done for the night.

I use to take him out around 10pm but, he was really reactive, I think something must have happened before I got him, he just does not like being outside after dark and even though we are inside, I have to pull the blinds shut because he will stare at the street light.

But, I always do positive reinforcement, so when he walks past another dog and doesn't react I give him a great response," Good job, dog boy," or " That's the way to do it Beau, and Momma loves her good boy," I'm sure people think I'm nuts when I'm out there walking him and I talk to him, but, who cares.
 
SheepOfBlue said:
Worn out dog helps if you can figure out how. With the fireworks, heat and me being hurt I have not been tossing the tennis ball or frisbee. Spitfire has been super keyed up looking for things to attack. Of course Sca is Mr Laid back but has tossed stuff on me 'just in case' :lol:
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Tiring my dog out doesn't make a difference. She will still be reactive no matter how tired and exhausted she is.
 
I keep thinking about this part in CU that talked about how having a dog focus on you solely is counterproductive to letting them relax. It's akin to us walking in a forest, hearing funny sounds and being forced NOT to look in that direction. After awhile, you're going to be wound up very tightly.

So, instead of forcing a dog to focus solely on you (uh-oh, it's what I did with Koji for a bit), you allow them to look at the thing that's setting them off and get them to learn the game (Look At That).

Sooo...I keep thinking, Koji is on patrol, so are these other dogs. Obviously, from the moment we step out the door, or even get their leash on, they're on patrol. We need to break that first step. Somehow. (BTW, Ashley, it seems poor Bentley is stressed out all the time expecting to hear those dogs bark or something.....I have to admit, I'm grateful Koji isn't like that all the time in the house).

Any thoughts on how we can associate leash with relaxed, versus going outside on patrol? Hmmm....I think this may be our first step. I think what I may do this week is work on putting a leash on, making him sit, open the door and c/t him sitting there and not patrolling.
 
SheepOfBlue said:
Worn out dog helps if you can figure out how. With the fireworks, heat and me being hurt I have not been tossing the tennis ball or frisbee. Spitfire has been super keyed up looking for things to attack. Of course Sca is Mr Laid back but has tossed stuff on me 'just in case' :lol:
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I would say true, however, Koji has come home from daycare and been on patrol at my old place. So not sure how much that applies. Ditto with agility trials. He can be out cold, and tired as heck, but if a dog passes too closely, oh, he's up!

Maybe Sca wants to be sure you're still alive and okay to toss things.
 
Have you tried a calming cap on Koji? You would probably get dirty looks when you go for walks but calming caps can reduce visual stimuli, so might help with the patrolling situation?
 
romeosangiovese said:
Have you tried a calming cap on Koji? You would probably get dirty looks when you go for walks but calming caps can reduce visual stimuli, so might help with the patrolling situation?
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I, um, forgot that I had one. LOL. But I've noticed that at agility, it helps a bit, but he still growls barks. Maybe I can use that in association with the LAT game for a bit so he doesn't go over his threshold as fast.

Thanks!
 
So, I was working with Koji, before we went out, he had to calm down a bit. I think that helped a very minute amount, but I did see a difference in his walk for at least 15 feet. LOL.

I also figured out one thing that he seems to absolutely hate. Um, it's a white fire hydrant. I spent about 5 minutes on the corner (across the street of it), clicking and treating him with cheese. I did realize that although he wasn't barking, he was over his threshold. I mean, my foodie didn't even look at me when I clicked. I walked away slowly, he'd look back, and I'd C/T.

It's been only one day, but if I can remember to do every step, to relax him going out the door, I think I may make progress (well, I'm hopeful).
 
I also found my other book, "Click to Calm", I'll see if there's anything good in that too, to help us all. There are other things in that book beyond LAT. I'm hoping maybe the combination of the two will allow our dogs to calm down and enjoy their walks.

Instead of trying to stare down the white fire hydrant across the street. :rolleyes2:
 
k9kreationz said:
I, um, forgot that I had one. LOL. But I've noticed that at agility, it helps a bit, but he still growls barks. Maybe I can use that in association with the LAT game for a bit so he doesn't go over his threshold as fast.

Thanks!
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Behaviorist trainer that I work with is not supportive with this LAT thing as with CU training in general. She thinks that LAT is only useful when you can work your dog under threshold but with herding breeds and their motion/ staring issues they are just about over threshold any time they out of the house:smile2: Just because dog is not lunging yet does not mean their arousal is not too high so you pairing up high arousal with cue and treat.
 
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