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October 12, 2007

Lilly and I had an interesting week. She did not snark at anyone or anything, but she did shut down a couple times in training. She also had one very scary encounter and responded beautifully. Here’s what happened.

We were transitioning in class from the fenced training area to some grass near the basketball courts. Since Lilly likes to avoid the crowd leaving the gates, we popped out quickly and headed toward the grass. I usually put her in a down-stay well away from where the others will be. We were just poking around, looking for the right spot, when I realized that an off-leash dog (not someone from class) was bombing straight for us. (Our Sunday class is held near a rec center, with a dog park.)

I’m not sure how I knew he was coming. Just all of a sudden, I knew.

In the few seconds I had, it seemed like his approach was NOT “Hey, look at this dog I can play with.” There was something different about it that I didn’t like. Plus, even if he meant to be friendly, Lilly hates dogs barreling into her space.

So, in my best, most calm, but very LOUD voice, I yelled at his owner, “Call your dog, please!” I honestly don’t know what she did next because I had to protect Lilly.

I got her behind me for the initial contact when the other dog pounced with his front legs, then shifted his weight and his ears back. I began walking away. I gave Lilly treats the entire time and told her everything was fine. She did not react. She did not bark or growl or lunge. She just followed my lead as we made our retreat.

Unfortunately, the dog did NOT get the clue, and his owner still had not regained control of him.

Lilly and I kept walking. He kept following. I’ve been trying hard to focus on Lilly’s body language, rather than the trigger thing (dog, skateboard, whatever), so I did not really look at the other dog again.

Thankfully, my yell got a classmate’s attention, so she tried calling the dog to her just to get him away from us. That helped, but Lilly and I kept walking away to give her extra space. I told her she was BRAVE. I told her she was a GOOD GIRL. I told her everything was OK … even though my heart was racing.

Once the dog went back to his owner, Lilly and I returned. But, first, she had to jump her jitters out. She lept as high as my head 4-5 times. So, I clapped and cheered and told her she was amazing. We had a little kiss-fest on the grass, then joined class again.

Later, I thanked the other handler for her help, and she said that she got worried when the other dog bared his teeth at Lilly.

So, Lilly probably had every right to react, but she didn’t. Still … the encounter shook me up.

Again, I’d like to think the meds helped her cope, but I also wonder if she was just too stressed to react. There seems to be this middle ground where a reaction is more likely. If she’s happy and confident, she’s fine. If she’s totally stressed, she’s “fine” in that she won’t react, but then we’re in shutdown territory. It’s that middle, sort-of-OK, sort-of-not, that’s the trouble.

She shut down twice in Sunday’s class. Once inside the training ring while doing some simple default behavior work. She went completely flat and wanted to leave. She went into flee mode and strained for the gate. I noticed 2 triggers. One is that a flock of noisy geese had just flown overhead. The other is that class was particularly large and included several new, young dogs Lilly has not met.

I jollied her out of it somewhat, but she was still HAPPY to leave the area when the time came. Sadly, before she could really unwind, that big dog charged at us.

The second shutdown came when the other dogs went into the dog park for a play break. The younger dogs really need it. They cannot work for an hour straight.

So, we stayed out and waited, along with the other reactive dog in our class. His name is Pete, and I’ve never seen him growl … ever. But, his handler works very hard. Lilly and Pete get along fine because they both know the other one isn’t going to engage. They can work side by side. They can sit pretty close together and wait. I think, they have an understanding.

(They both wear red bandanas as a reminder to other handlers that they don’t want to visit. It’s a really nice visual that has helped people remember not to get too close, not to their their rambunctious dogs approach.)

Anyway, I guess Lilly thought I was going to make her go in the park (she has NOT gone in there for nearly 11 months), so she shut down, put on the brakes. She laid down and refused to move. So, I honored that. And, we just waited for our turn to do some restrained recalls outside the park, then we went home.

Her actual work this week wan’t hot. She was fairly distracted and blew me off a bit. But, since she didn’t engage the maurading dog, I count the day as a victory.

Other notes
Last Saturday at the farmer’s market, Lilly showed interest (the nice kind) a young, wiggly Golden, so I let her greet the pup (who’s name is also Lilly), and she was great, very approrpate, very calm.

I ordered my copy of Control Unleashed. I got one for Gigi, our trainer, too so that we can strategize together. The books arrived yesterday. I guess we all know what I’m doing this weekend. (smirk)

I’ve also scheduled Lilly’s first agility private lesson at the new indoor place for Oct 17. We’re going to let her explore the space and play if she wants to.

So, that’s it for this week. Thanks, as always, for your interest and support.

About the Author Roxanne Hawn

Trained as a traditional journalist and based in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado, USA, I'm a full-time freelance writer for magazines, websites, and private clients. My areas of specialty include everything in the lifestyles arena, including health and home, personal finance and other consumer interests, relationships and trends, people and business profiles ... and, of course, all things pet related.

I don't just love dogs. I need them in my life. Seriously.

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