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Don't Leave Me!

Posted August 17th, 2007 by flytiki99
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My 4 yr old dog is getting a bit stressed. She had 4 previous "owners" before I got her at 11 weeks old but soon settled with me and my other puppy fine but always a little anxious but no problems when I go out. Her anxiety increased when at a yr old her sister was in hospital for 2 weeks. Although even then it was not bad. She has always been my little shadow and is a bit nervous aggressive around other dogs she does not know but is fine if given space. The last year has seen a steady increase in anxiety although with Emma Parsons Click to Calm method her anxiety around other dogs has significantly decreased. We do a lot of activities including flyball, agility and heelwork to music. There is no problem when I go out as long as her sister is with her but even if she's not at home its not really a problem. The problems arise in circumstances such as when we are away camping at competitions if I leave the van for a few mins. The strange thing is she is generally fine in the van when left on her own in it if she can't hear the excitement. I can take them both to my part time job and leave them in a room with toys etc . They are left no more than for 2 hours its a place they have both known since they were puppies but she is getting worse and worse only yesterday I entered the room and she was in such a state of agitation drank all her water, her kongs, buster cubes or toys had not been touched. I have consulted a behaviour counsellor who did a stand-off but all this did was make the situation a lot worse. I have also tried anxiety drops, bach flower rescue remedies but they do not help the situation. I was thinking of crate training her to see if a movable safe area will help the situation but I would appreciate any other ideas as I have honestly tried most!

Comments

Some suggestions...

Aidan's picture
On August 18th, 2007 Aidan says:

I really like your crate training idea, and I think you should go for it. The best method of teaching crate training is found at http://www.dragonflyllama.com in the Book of Training Levels.

If you follow those directions you won't go wrong.

I'm not sure what a "stand off" is, but it doesn't sound like fun! If it was an extinction procedure then it may have required some more time, but an extinction procedure can be quite stressful.

I like to use an "approach - retreat" technique. If she wants you to stay with her, then you can use that as a reinforcer.

You leave, not far, just a few steps, then if she is calm, return. Pause. Leave again, 1 more step than last time. If she is still calm, return.

If at any point she is not calm, then wait until she calms down again before you return and don't go quite so far on the next trial.

Regards,
Aidan
http://www.positivepetzine.com

Thanks Aidan

On August 18th, 2007 flytiki99 says:

I was thinking of trying the training levels technique for crate training as I'm a big fan of Sue Ailsburys' Levels so I'm glad you thought it a good idea as after our last attempts with the stand off I'm worried about making it worse. I'm also going to try your technique as well which I've been doing in a minor way but I think I specifically need to train for it rather than just doing it on those occasions when I have to leave her. The "stand off" is basically similar but in our case another dog was brought in as a stooge as it was primarily done for her "aggression" I had to stand several metres away and only return when she was quiet. This was extremely stressful for her and her aggressiveness to other dogs increased as a result. I think the way it was taught to us was too much too fast. The counsellor went on to say that I should medicate her, however I have no intention of doing that as this is definitely not a full time problem! Thanks again for the advice and I shall keep you posted.

"stand off"

Aidan's picture
On August 19th, 2007 Aidan says:

Hmmm, this sort of thing can work very well IF the trainer -
1. starts off with Functional Analysis to see if what they are suggesting IS a functional reinforcer (i.e increases or maintains the behavior)
2. continually measures behavior to make sure that the correct behavior is actually being reinforced.

It works well enough *sometimes* if you don't do these things - which is enough to reinforce the trainer for doing it - even if it fails on other occasions.

Someone said the other day that "aggression treatment should look like paint drying". It's not very exciting, doesn't make for very good TV either. I doubt that a casual observer would ever realise that the dogs in my reactive dogs class were aggressive. I hope not anyway!

Regards,
Aidan
http://www.positivepetzine.com

Update

On August 27th, 2007 flytiki99 says:

I purchased a fantastic soft crate so that it would be easy to move around and it packs up really easily in its rucksack and is very light. I've begun very slowly as per the Training Levels. Both dogs like going in there so thats a good start. I've been giving meals in there and clicking for lying down in there having progressed from rewarding her just for being in there.
I've also progressed with her being tethered while i walk away 2m just in one location so far but she is being calm when tethered while I pay for about 30seconds with her sister so we have made a good start. Trying to train both aspects about 2 to 3 times a day just for a couple of mins.

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