Bliss report...very related to barking and lunging, loose leash

I'll share a Bliss report I know that they entertain Suzy. <grin>

We began heeling with the group and his focus wavered from me at times to "I'd like to grab butts." Fortunately he was silent so no one realized the black faced devil was on their heels. <grin> Without any leash to play with he was without any real momentum and could not get close enough to make contact. Realizing this was not particularly fun, he then decided to give me that "brilliant and beautiful heeling" that he is so capable of. "Major hotdogs for you, my favorite little man. "

After a strong reward history was created for heeling, after he had gotten some of his initial "ya ya's" out, with a little movement .he had settling in nicely to the group and so I then gave him all of his six foot lead. He remained ever faithful at my side. I wandered about (as various jumps where being set up and the class was in "free practice time") just walking, no cue to heel. But Bliss-ster has such a reward history for being at my left it didn't look much different from his "heel".

Anyway I then began to move closer and closer to other dogs...the closer we get to other dogs, the more goodies for him. He likes this game but he likes lunging, too. That is really fun.  He is really so cowardly but one should see the handlers and their dogs jump when he lunges.  He must think he's quite the sensation. <grin>

So he has all of this leash and he is within "striking zone" should he decide that might be something interesting to try...as soon as his nose got in front of my knee I did not wait and wonder "what will he do"?? I didn't suck in the lead. I just backed up at a 45 degree angle from him...

"What? You aren't with me"??

He'd turn and follow me. IMMEDIATE click and treat!!

"Oh hey, you're using the clicker!"

I am not continually attached to my clicker/ I use it when I am working on very specific criteria and these were the criteria. "Yes when we are not heeling, of course you may look at the other dogs AND if you don't lunge and instead follow me...Bliss, it is click city for you, doll!!"

"Stupendous." (I'm reading his mind and observing his behavior.) "I am with you, baby."

He was a doll and performed admirably. No lunges, no barks, casual glances and then he'd follow me. Now I am sure that if I had let him get more than a head's length in front of me before I moved, this would have been a miserable failure...we work slowly and with careful increments of raising criteria.

My goal: keep him successful. My goal with the clicker - work on something very precise don't use it to "mark everything." Your verbal "good" is just fine for behaviors he knows and for less precise criteria. Chuck food when necessary, click for precision. Do not confuse the dog. Click for "one thing" at a time.

Then we are all in the imfamous line up...like little ducks in a row we're all lined up shoulder to shoulder waiting for our "time up" on the training floor. New situation for Bliss.Though we've done this before, we had not done this on this particular evening. Time to shorten that lead again and yes we are going to sandwich ourselves in between these two dogs...oh GAds!! A lunge for the Poodle. Drats. Can't go anywhere and the Poodle did not go away either.

"Hmmm?? What's up?"

"YES!! Watch me." Feed, feed, feed. "We are very close to other dogs. See all the food raining in on you when you watch me?  You are getting this food at the rate of one morsel (microscopic in size) every second."

 "Neat. This is fun. Can I lay down?"

"YES!! of course. I'll sit on the floor with you."

"Neat...would you scratch my tummy?"

"Yes of course, dear. How's about a little kiss too? You are being such a good boy."

He is giving me that delightful, relaxed grin of his and is melting the hearts of those next to me. "He's so cute"...I hear from my neighbors.

"Here have all the leash length back. Let's just chill and wait for your turn."

As dogs leave the line up next to us, he remains relaxed and calm. A client comes up to me to ask about her dog and I take his collar...just in case this does make him a little tense but not as tense as my client would get if Bliss jumped her doggy. "Sorry he's a little reactive". She sits down and her dog lays down ...a nice terribly abused rescue Golden, fearful and very soft. I let Bliss sniff her feet and then I do pull him away.

"That was lovely.. No need to interact until you get nervous."

He lays back down and I give him the leash length back. Our turn...it's a figure eight thing that we are supposed to do. Well, he's never done this. He is not particularly fond of people either and we are to walk in between two strange human towers. Again short leash. It isn't much fun to be a tower and find a Belgian attached to your backside.

As we went through the two humans and around the first post..."Can I sniff her?"

"Nope."

"Well, better to heel then."

YES!!"

Second time around the posts I could drop the slack back into the leash. He did really well because he is perfect (even with all his warts) to my eyes. <grin> He is a really flashy worker to anyone's eyes when he is working. Back to the line up...He has now done the "line up" thing so no need to shorten the lead as we rejoin the group. He resumes his little spot and lays down. We ended with a broad jump...

"Bliss, your turn??"

"Well, I dunno."

"Well you're his trainer. Have you worked on this with him?"

"No. I'll give it a shot. Anyway he knows what "jump means."

I had him sit  and wait...I did not cue stay as we have not practiced stay next to a broad jump. I don't want him to make a mistake with "stay". If he moves and I've cued wait I don't care...he has no idea what "wait" means anyway. <grin>

I cued jump...and over he went!!!!!!!! No clicking as this is not how I would begin to work on a broad jump, had no idea what he would do and so on.

He did get a cookie. And one million and one hugs and kisses from me.

So ends the Bliss-ster Meister report.

© 10/27/2000 Janet Smith, Good Dog! Training, Okemos, MI

Two years later:

The recent threads on progress reports and Tervurens has motivated me to share my own with this list...Bliss is one of 3 Belgians I own. I sent this to another list and will share it here as well.

I should give you an update on how Bliss is doing...Bliss is my now 4 y.o. extremely reactive rascal of a Belgian Tervuren dog. He's the dog featured on the opening page of my website and a bit of background for those not familiar with his "story".

Bliss was to be my "ultimate working dog." He's handsome, smart, and flashy...he is also one of those dogs so motivated to relate to his owner he will walk on hot coals for a smile.

He was a dog that if I'd pull him out for a demo at class he'd blast out, do his demo and often part of his demo involved realizing he was being "featured" and he'd lunge and snarl at all the students' dogs at *any distance*. Students 15 -20 feet away would "jump" as would their dogs. He'd file toenails to "get" any dog or any person on the mean suburban streets too. In my yard dare any neighbor come out into theirs, he'd hit the fence snarling (he broke one of his teeth on the fence) to get them.

This behavior began when we was about 6 months of age about the same time we realized he had a terrible case of OCD (the joint malformation, not obsessive compulsive disorder).

Additionally one of his litter mates was euthanized for attacking a child and going through a door to do it -- so the whole litter had/has genetic challenges to say the least.

He had shoulder surgery at 13 months of age and was castrated at that time too.

Well I am happy to report that he seldom to never performs his little "flash dance" anymore. While few people have the courage to approach me, speak to a woman walking 5 dogs (3 of which are shepherds), when a few have ...Bliss has been greeting them after a "wait at heel" like a normal, friendly pooch. A few have even been brave enough to pet him.

He seldom to never lunges, flashes teeth when we pass by dogs on our walks...dogs in yards. He even "turned the proverbial cheek" last week when a St. Bernard roared out at us (the dog was behind an invisible fence system) and the dog is not *nice*.

Occasionally we still have trouble passing dogs on the streets on leash. At the vet's office a Kerry blue intact male was a yard or so away and began to call Bliss names. He sat and looked at me as I paid our bill.

Seldom do we have an undesirable response to humans...not those on bikes, not those on skateboards, or pushing strollers. Two people on bikes came up behind us last night on our walk . I'm always surprised that anyone knows so little about dogs and bikes that they will peddle up and whiz past someone with 5 dogs and do it within "leash range". Anyway one I was aware of ...one not...nothing from Bliss.

I had him out the other night "after class" to work with a woman with her reactive dog...the previous monster becomes another dog I can work with/use with someone else's reactive ninny!

Oh and no fence charging and my new neighbors have 5 kids ages 3-13 and if there is a category of the population Bliss is really not comfortable to dangerous with it is children. He does his own thing in our yard and doesn't even go near the shared fence lines.

Yippee! Yippee! Yippee!

He is one heck of a long way from fixed, but I am so darn proud of him...my next goal/step is to take him to work with me on occasion. Of course I'd still like to do some more work with him so he can fill ultimate demo dogduties. I'm not into competing with any of the dogs. We can dabble in things,but even post surgery he is not physically able to do intense practice or competition at agility, flyball etc.

His shoulder was one of the worst cases my vet had ever seen...Who had the worst case? His littermate and the dog euthanized for aggressive behavior before one year of age. <Sigh>

© 11/08/2002. Janet A. Smith, Behavior Program Manager, Capital Area Humane Society Lansing, Mi                         http://www.ourkindredsouls.com/

23 months later:

Bliss-ster now 6-ish, or 6 this month, I think that's it. Blisster has not lunged at human, dog, kids in stroller in I cannot say how long.

In fact a month or so ago we hit the "motherload." I had two groups of people walking by, one with a stroller. On a lawn on the other side was a husky behind invisible fencing, *and* just then a man zipped by on a bicycle. Bliss-ster did his sit/stay at my side, and I felt like we had just earned our OTCH.

Another Bliss-ster brag. I walk all my dogs at once. We were "charged" by a Chow. Bliss returned to heel position and sat behind me (not a peep out of him) while I had the other dogs interact with the interrlopter.

We did work as mentioned, a combination of operant and classical conditioning, and he's a super dog. Not "cured", not well tempered, well trained. He's my little bud.

© 1/14/2004 Janet A. Smith. Okemos, Michigan. All rights reserved. No further reproduction permitted without express written consent. Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it