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 Personalized Training Program: Obi

 Board and Train: 05/17-06/03

Obi was an absolute delight to work with over the two weeks he was here! He’s a really fun dog with a lot of intelligence and energy. While he’s biddable, interested in learning, and fun to train…that coin has two sides to it. It means he does need that intellectual stimulation in order to regulate, especially through his adolescent years, and it means that even when you’re not intending to, he’s paying attention to the lessons you’re teaching him. With any dog, they’ll seek out behaviors that have benefitted them in the past and avoid behaviors that have not benefitted them - with Obi, what’s likely is that he will catch onto those patterns faster than the average and will look to create his own fun if he’s not being reinforced by you!

In addition to the behaviors below, I would encourage you to take a look at potentials for dog sports, tricks, or other similar activities that are going to provide mental and physical enrichment for him. Let me know if I can help point you in directions - I also really encourage you to jump in to the drop in classes available through Guild Hall or private training opportunities to explore additional fun things to enrich and train Obi!

06/19 Virtual Handoff

I’m so happy Obi has been doing so well since his stay here! It’s great progress that he largely does well with humans and (to a somewhat lesser extent) with dogs, and that he’s continuing to be receptive to the treats and the exercises. A few things I would keep in mind as you continue to work with him:

• Make it a priority for Obi to practice the good habits you want to continue to see. This means continuing the steps to manage Obi’s barking or pulling, but also pushing him to cope with the emotions in addition to managing the behavior. That might mean:

  • Treat Scatters - in addition to desensitization, treat scatters also give Obi a chance to move around and burn some energy up, and take a break from whatever is difficult in his environment.

  • Ready Get It

  • Offered Behavior - Watch Obi and make sure to avoid “over-cueing” to make sure that Obi is actually coping and not just deflecting from the behavior

• Crawling to Say Hi - this is only a problem if it’s a problem! However you will want to add a “release” cue to verbally give him before he hits the end of his leash. Similarly, you may also want to recall him intermittently rather than allowing him to greet the person to keep this from becoming a precursor to frustration in the situations he cannot greet.

Relaxing in the home can be helped with a relaxation protocol. Obi and I did a little of this, but a great way to start is the Overall Relaxation Protocol - these are 15 days of down stays with intermittent treats, slowly increasing difficulty and distraction and can help build a solid stay as well as biomechanically helping the body relax. This can help Obi learn to “turn off” in the house.

09/10 In Person Coaching Session

Reactivity Out the Front Door

For dogs who are highly social, you can end up seeing increased reactive behaviors in situations when they are on leash or behind barriers because the frustration they feel upon not being able to greet others results in an expectation of irritation when they see them pass by. The easiest way to address this behavior out the window is to close the front door when you aren’t actively working on changing his response. Some things you might offer to keep Obi occupied throughout the day could include:

• Prepared toppls or kongs.

• Crate time

• Treasure hunt of scattered treats throughout the house

Work on his behavior out the door by giving him some time he can see out of it - either by opening the front door or the storm door depending on if you decide to use window film to let the light in. Play Look at That and Ready Get it away from the door so he gets practice choosing better behaviors when he sees something interesting outside.

Both during the workday and otherwise, make sure you’re practicing the 100 or none rule - meaning Obi can have 100% of your focused attention but otherwise set the expectation that he can find his own thing to do :)

Reactivity On Walks

As we discussed, it’s not an uncommon thing for dogs with some frustration-based reactivity to have bigger reactions to certain dogs. For some, that can be larger or smaller dogs, but a common culprit for eliciting reactive responses is shepherds and huskies. Both of these breeds often walk with energy and confidence, and this in combination with physical characteristics like naturally pricked ears, lifted tail, and a mask around their eyes and face that prevents accurate reading of body language creates quicker reactions from dogs who are unsure of them.

Assume that Obi will be quicker to react to these kinds of dogs and proactively manage his behavior by offering a food scatter or playing ready-get it to help Obi past the dog he’s less sure of.

Recall in the Backyard

We spoke briefly about this but wanted to include it in his recap - when out back, reward his check ins while he’s off leash in the yard. If he can be invited to keep moving, great, he’s rewarded! If he’s approaching his boundary line, great, toss a treat close to the house for him and he can be rewarded for that check in. Keeping both possibilities rewarding for him will encourage him to keep offering that check in so you have recall available to you when you need it.

Next Steps

• Practice your greeting protocol among the household, and then start introducing the same with guests.

• Come to classes for more practice! Cheat Codes starts tonight, and Training Club sessions are also held monthly and are available when we have space for drop-ins.

• Let me know what questions you have about Fenzi classes or other brain and energy burning activities or classes you can take with Obi. I do have the “Do More” session connected now on Guild Hall, and would be happy to help you get started in anything you think you and he might enjoy!

• Keep me posted on how he’s doing, and we can plan on additional sessions here and there to make adjustments or introduce new behaviors as needed!