Shana Training for Boston Update (part 4 of series)

The activity this last Sunday was mildly busy. We just want her to see a dog here and there walking past and not overwhelm her.

This Fall 2023, we are bringing our Shana with us to Boston for our vacation.  I have been working on readying her since May 2023.   Unfortunately, at Shana's follow up veterinarian appoint, we found out she is in congestive heart failure.   The medication are working well, and Shana is at a good energy and activity level.   That may have held us up a month or more, and we had to restart it a little after that.  So here is a little taste of what we have been doing:

Shana did develop an anxiety over crowds of even just people.  I really am not sure why this happened, but I was probably responsible for it.  Shana comes from working lines dogs, and is very determined once she decides something.  I have early pictures of us in crowds (3 - 4 months old), and maybe the bite from a client dog came before we went to a Doberman Rescue Picnic, where she was super defensive at 5 months old (there were both a lot of people and a lot of dogs).  We would have been at that picnic with Boris and Stormy too, I think.   Anyway, that might have been her fear of strange dogs marrying with a crowd of people and dogs.  We live on large acreage, and during the years other sorts of training took over my time with Shana.   Plus we had three to four other dogs to take care of as ours through the years.   Now we are focusing on being calm around lots of people, and getting that calm closer to dogs being walked on leash in areas.     The ways we have started this off property are:

• Walks on loose leash with me around dirt roads in our area, where we will see dogs on leash walking.
• Walks on transitional leash or chain collar to the beach.
• Near the beach we do sit on the dog on a grassy area or the beach wall.  Then we usually do some transitional leash work off to the side as people or people with dogs (and children) walk by.  There are also bikes, skateboarders, and so on that Shana does not seem stressed by.
• If she looks comfortable and I am not in the middle of training, I let nice calm people approach and greet her.   My husband also does this a lot (always has) at places like banks and hardware stores.
• On at least weekends, my husband and I take her together for a walk.   She has always tended to be stressed when her "pack" is with her rather than walking one on one with us.  Maybe because she feels responsible to be on high alert.   So we are trying to get in the habit, whenever we can, to walk her together.
• We have begun taking her to the beach at times where dogs are expected to be on leash together now as well.   I give her food rewards for not pulling or performing a command right away.   The treats are more than a reward though, this is to help a fearful or anxious dog calm down.  
• I don't ask too much of Shana when she is showing anxiety.  I go to the easiest thing she can do in that moment and reward her for doing that.   I also reward her for calm and quiet behavior.
• Just about everyday (in our house) I put Shana up in a crate for two hours.   She may or may not be able to see me depending on what I am doing.   This has been helpful for her to self chill around the other dogs in training (that are suitable to be around her).

At home she is put through her paces on things like long place, quiet, quiet in crate for long periods, sit on the dog, and long downs (10 minutes).   I am also going to start the more advanced obedience in the city and on the beach when she is ready.   Right now, the public places with strange are more important to just keep her comfortable in instead of pushing her obedience wise.   So in other words, changing her opinion of her safety is what we are working on.   She wears her muzzle in areas that I can not 95% certain an off leash dog won't approach.   I also keep my eye on what is coming up, so if someone's dog looks sketchy from a distance, I can move us away from their path.  So far, we have been lucky that everyone's dog has been on some sort of leash on the beach and has looked well behaved.   (Knock on wood)

Improvements that I have noticed:

• Happier, relaxed, and enjoying these sessions.   That does not mean there has been no stress, but she is recovering well if a fast moving dog is seen and it scares her.  She is also a lot more tolerant of calm leashed dogs walking by and minding their own business.
• Shana used to yell a lot when we would take her out together.   Shana now  just has some anxious jumping up to Robert sometimes and some whining.   So she is getting more confident when we are both out with her.
• Happier and more relaxed in our house and when new dogs come by for their lessons (they are on the other side of the house), which made Shana very nervous.   She is feeling more confident that I am handling things on this side of the house, because I won't let dogs go bother her (I put barriers in place or close the door if necessary).   
• She is able to go to sleep in her crate in the dog room when newish (meaning a day or two old) board and train or day train dog is here.   She is getting more confident with that.   I wouldn't have her over here with a dog that will get reactive with her.   I let her hang out in her crate over here when mellow friendly non reactive dogs are here.
• It used to take about three weeks (with friendly dogs) for Shana to start getting comfortable with a board & train (and then they would leave).  Now it takes about three days with a friendly mellow dog.  Not saying that they are together, but Shana no longer feels there is a threat on the other side of the gate, and she gets interested.   She has made three recent friendships (not that she is likely to see them again).

Things still to work on:

• She still gets pully with Robert (because he does not insist she does not), and she will pull on the leash a little with me until we warm up.  I am going to need to practice the walking with her as many days as I can until Boston in the Fall.
• Listening immediately even if there is a strange dog right next to us.   She is getting better at that on walks outside.   If a dog is inside our house, I usually have to warm her up and rep her out until she relaxes.  In the past, I have just kept a fairly wide buffer between the kitchen door and the mudroom area, where our guest dogs are allowed to lie down.  I have shortened up that buffer area, and work on her not being impulsive when a newer dog is here.

Please check out any exercises that we may have linked to above.   Feel free to ask questions on our Facebook Group or where this is posted on our Facebook Page (or Instagram).
​