After doing some individual lessons with our trainer Lilian, Laika showed marked improvement; thanks, in part, to Easy Cheese and other treats that she loved and could focus on. The next step was to get her into a class specifically for dogs with leash-anxiety or aggression. Luckily, Lilian was one of the teachers of the Feisty Fidos class at the local shelter called Animal Friends. This was perfect for both of us, as we would be around other dogs with similar problems and guardians who were looking for techniques to help their dogs. Given the various behaviors that might be exhibited, it took the pressure off and, contrary to what one would think, made it a less stressful environment to work on lowering Laika's anxiety.
Certainly, Laika did exhibit some anxiety at the beginning, but each class she seemed to get more and more comfortable. I think a huge part of it was that she knew what to expect when we went to the shelter. Having never been in one as a resident, Laika didn't have negative associations with the place, just anxiety from the fact that there were tons of dogs around all the time. Still, Laika was both very smart and very adaptable. After just the first time, she didn't even whine or look sad when we arrived! That, in itself, was a giant victory. She even got excited and started wagging her tail when she would see other dogs. These were good signs!
The format of the class, which I think was like 8 weeks, built on just getting the dogs comfortable knowing that they were around other dogs. The "classroom" was actually very large (two activity rooms with the center wall retracted) to give the feisty fidos a lot of space. Earlier on, each dog was stationed behind a partition with their caretaker(s) as the other dogs took turns being walked around the room. This kept all the dogs separated physically and visually while allowing their guardians to get a feel for the boundaries of their dogs' anxiety and working on positive reinforcement techniques of treat-giving at the same time. As the classes progressed, the barriers were removed and techniques were honed both by dogs and humans.
Granted, there were varying degrees of "success" for the canine students of the class. However, it seemed that all of the human participants were able to understand how they could support their pups at times when it was necessary for them to act in ways that fostered calmness in their companions. Mentally, I think this was a general relief for those who previously got very frustrated with their dogs' behavior...while offering a glimmer of hope that things would improve to some degree. As someone who was partially in this camp, it was also excellent to combat my mindset that Laika needed to be "perfect" in any way. Taking her to the class was an excellent way to bond with her while defeating my constant expectations of how things should be. (Our battle against "should-ness" was just beginning at this point.)
Over the course of the classes, Laika and one other dog became standout students. This was awesome, because it allowed them some playtime each week, which turned out to be a super incentive for her to calm her nerves and gave her something to look forward to. I think most of this was a result of the constant work that we had put in together on walks since Lilian started training us several months before. Laika, thus, graduated with flying colors and was allowed to enter any of the other training classes if I wanted to enroll her. However, at this point, we did not continue, but rather worked steadily to reinforce our successful behavior each time we went for a walk.
I was so proud of Laika that she was able to adjust and find ways to battle her anxiety. It even got to the point that our walks involved slack in the leash sometimes! I never thought I would see the day, honestly. It was like we were both able to relax and just breathe on our walks sometimes. Granted, there were relapses of anxiety and screaming, but they were becoming far and few between. No dog or human is perfect, so even these episodes could be used to reinforce positive habits...and give treats!
In fact, Laika's hard work did not go unnoticed by others at Animal Friends...she went from feisty fido to model pitbull citizen in no time! We'll get to the rest of the story tomorrow.
A loose-leash! Laika sits, waiting for a peanut butter treat.
No comments:
Post a Comment