When Dogs Break Away | Our Worst Fear

I have written before about Quinnie and her fear-based aggression towards other dogs and sometimes people.  I have written about our journey with training and working with her to help her see that she is safe in this world of things that frighten her. But, today, I am going to write about our biggest fear and how we survived it.

Our biggest fear is another dog who is off lead or breaks free from their lead and comes at us; either friendly or aggressively.  In Quinnie's world other dogs are scary, so imagine one coming straight at her snarling and snapping....now imagine two dogs breaking free from their owner and coming straight at her and me, snarling and snapping.....now, one more time, imagine three dogs breaking free from their owner and coming straight at her and me.....and that is what we experienced this morning.

Let me back up and say, that I am writing this from the comfort of my home office and Quinnie and I are fine.  I have a few tiny nicks and bruises, but Quinnie without any marks on her. Deep sigh out....we are thankful for this....now we want to tell you our story.

Let me back up to Monday, when Quinnie and I were on a walk and I wanted to start working again on FOCUS, so we introduced treats back on our walks.  As we walked I would say her name or click my tongue and she would look up at me and she would get a treat.  I felt our connection on walks was not as good as it had been and I just wanted to start building that connection again; this was working. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and today, we walked, we played our training game of FOCUS and we were building a strong connection.  This morning we noticed another dog up ahead and it was barking at us, so I had Quinnie sit so we could give a little distance between us and them and we played FOCUS.  She was nailing it; she stopped paying attention to the barking dog and focussed entirely on me.  GOOD GIRL QUINNIE.  Once the other dog was a safe distance away, we started in with HEAL and continued FOCUS.  Before we could know what was going on, we came up on a house with a man holding three leashes attached to three dogs.  In the blink of an eye, the three dogs had slipped their collars and were running straight at us; barking, snarling, snapping; our worst nightmare.

Thank goodness we had been working on our connection, because we only had seconds to respond.  I put Quinnie onto my left side, flanking my leg. I immediately made myself as big as I could, I used my voice as a weapon and yelled NO! while backing away, always keeping Quinnie close and at my left leg.  The dogs circled to the front and we moved with them, always keeping Quinnie to my left.  She barked, but she did not lunge at them, she stayed by my side.  It took minutes for the man to get his dogs back in control and he would get one in control and the other two would break away again and come at us, but Quinnie and I developed a dance together, moving, me staying big and using my voice, always backing away and keeping her safe; she trusted me, she worked with me instead of against me, we were a team! When we finally made our way passed the chaos, she shook off the incident with a full body shake and I sat on the ground and smothered her in love and kisses and told her she was a GOOD GIRL!

To finish this post, I would like to step up on my soapbox for a moment and please ask people to be responsible pet owners.  Please make sure that your dogs have collars and harnesses that they cannot slip out of.  Please make sure that if you cannot handle all of your dogs at once, take them out individually.  And, finally, please work with your dogs on recall so that if they do break away, you can get them to come back to you under any circumstance.  This could have gone so many, many ways wrong.  A car could have come down the road and hit one of the dogs; Quinnie could have been so scared that she reacted and attacked one of their dogs; Quinnie or I could have been bitten severely and needed medical attention; thankfully we are able to tell the tale safely from our cosy office, while Quinnie takes a much deserved snooze.

Dog Training | A Pawrent's Perspective

 

Whether you are adopting a puppy, a teen, or a senior dog you are likely going to need to do training at some point in their lives. Obedience and socialization training are the most common and are typically easy to find in your area, but what happens when you need specialized training?  

When we adopted Linus, our senior pup, he was deaf and going blind, so I needed to learn how to do touch training with him. Believe it or not, I was able to find this training online and followed the basics and within a few weeks he was following my commands and we were having a wonderful time.

When we adopted Quinn, our teen pup, she came to us with anxiety-based reactivity, so I thought, this isn’t my first rodeo, I’ve got this!  Boy was I wrong.  Quinn has taken me on a training journey that has not only provided her with a whole new life, but has taught me so much about dogs, training, and myself.  I thought I would give you some of my thoughts on the experience, so that maybe it will help you in your journeys.

First Lesson | How Do You Get to Carnegie Hall? Practice! Practice! Practice!

We all know if you want to do something well, it takes time, dedication, consistency, and commitment.  Yet, when it comes to dog training and our busy lives, it can sometimes take a back seat to other things.  With our dog Buzz, if we missed a day with our training on the basics of sit, stay, come, it simply meant the next time we worked with him it could take a moment for him to catch on again.  But, with Quinn, if we missed a day, it could mean she lunges or snaps at someone in public and we run the risk of losing her. So, what I have learned is that training is a commitment to your dog to give them their best life and in order to do this, you need to carve out ten minutes twice a day to create a lasting bond with them; it is worth the extra effort.

Second Lesson | Forever Isn’t Long At All, When I’m With You

Training, whether it be basic obedience or specialized training, is a commitment to your dog for their lifetime.  It is not a quick fix, no matter what the Internet says.  Advertising and marketing are wonderful things, I know, I do it for a living; but training your dog, getting your dog to let go of a behavior takes time; it takes a commitment to your dog for their entire life. Even when they seem to “have it” one day, they may make a slip the next and you need to be there for them. I no longer take walks with Quinn or Buzz while looking at my phone, taking a call, or listening to the latest podcast. I take my walks with my dogs with active awareness of the world around me and the opportunities to learn are boundless.  Training is now an active part of our daily routine and we all look forward to it.

Third Lesson | It’s Not Them…It’s You

Although you are taking your dog to training, it isn’t actually the dog getting trained; it’s you! Be prepared to learn more about yourself than you would in a therapy session.  When you are anxious, that anxiety translates down the leash into your dog. When your dog is unsure of a situation, they need to be able to look to you, they need you to be the one to say, “I got this!” One of the most wonderful results of the training that I have done with Quinn is that I have gotten my voice back. I had taken a moment in life to fade to the background, to let myself be unseen, but Quinn needed me to step up and be the person she needed, so I grew a voice and now I am prepared to use it whenever needed to show her, “I’ve got this!”

Fourth Lesson | Not Too Soft, Not Too Hard, Just Right

No two training courses and no two trainers are alike; what works for one person and their dog may not work for someone else.  Case in point, our first trainer was recommended by a friend who had great success, but neither Quinn nor I responded well to the techniques used by them, so we didn’t continue. We have tried different training courses along our journey, some worked to address an immediate need, and some have given us tools to continue our journey well into the future. Listen to your dog and listen to your gut; keep researching, interviewing and find the right training course/trainer for you.  When you find “Just Right” you will know it and the results that you see will guide you the rest of the way on your journey.