# Calm and Collected



## DancingCavy (Feb 19, 2001)

Risa is dog reactive. Basically, she is afraid of other dogs and responds to them by barking, lunging, hackling, etc. Fixing this has been a long-term project and I've tried many things with her. Our current modus operandi has been trying to create a positive association with seeing other dogs. When we see another dog, I get out some treats and feed them to her until the dog has passed. I started doing this while I was living with the folks in NY and saw some pretty good progress. After moving here, I've kept it up. We work on this almost every day since the place where I take her to walk is a popular location for other dogs.

Today was pretty nice out and I planned on taking her for a really long walk. I made sure to have a lot of treats with me since we were more likely to see other dogs on such a fine weekend.

I lost track of how many dogs we passed but suffice to say it was a LOT. We walked by large dogs, small dogs, neutral dogs and reactive dogs. One of the dogs we passed three times and he was running right towards us with his owners (who were also running). I know this is an additional stress for Risa since a dog running towards her is much more scary. But she kept her head and just ate her treats without any reaction.

There were two times when I thought she would fall into her 'bad' behavior. We had to pass two Bichons. Normally, I put myself between Risa and the dogs we are passing but I could not this time. So there was nothing but air between her and the Bichons. As we passed, the one started barking and lunging towards her. She turned and looked at it with a worried look on her face but then came right back to taking treats from me. I praised her a TON.

The other time really got my tummy in a knot. We were walking in the middle of the path and were about to be the creme in a canine Oreo. Again, I had to have Risa right next to another dog. This dog kept looking at Risa as we passed them (they were heading in the same direction as us). Ris looked over her shoulder at this little dog again with her worried look. She looked longer than I would have liked and that's when I thought "Oh no." She surprised me and turned her head back to me and got more treats. Hooray!!

She did not have ONE bad reaction the entire four-mile walk!

I was pretty much out of treats when we got home. Just 7 or so left in the baggie. As I pulled in, I saw the GSD that barks at Risa all the time. He really sets her off. I knew this was going to be a challenge since I was pretty much out of treats. I took my time getting Risa out of the car, hoping he'd go away and I wouldn't have to deal with it. No such luck. Risa had seen him (and heard him) so she was ready to tell him off. I had her lay down in the car (so she couldn't keep looking for him) and rewarded her when she was quiet.

I took her past him at as far enough distance as I could. She kept trying to see him past the cars. I managed to get a treat or two into her mouth and she started to focus a bit more on me. Her body language read 'fear' and she seemed more interested in just getting home rather than barking at him (he was barking at her). I was so proud of her for not joining in with his reactivity. Today, she was simply amazing.

I know we're far from ready to start phasing out treats. But I'm so happy to see progress.


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## DianaM (Jan 5, 2006)

Go Risa!







That's excellent progress. You've been working so hard with her and she is doing awesome!


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## Brightelf (Sep 5, 2001)

Risa and Jamie, you are my inspiration!!







Risa has REALLY come a long, long way! I am so proud of you both. This is BIGGER than even earning her CGC!! For a reactive dog, this is absolutely amazing.









I so wish that these methods would work with Grimmi, but his basis is different. Instead of fear, it's impatience to socialize/ pushyness... so the food rewards thing makes things worse. Maturity and me being a stronger leader seems to help in our case!

Risa is herself truly amazing. Your training of her is with such devotion! She could never, ever have done this when you got her, Jamie! You and Risa are really both developing so much as a cohesive team.







Her fearfulness is being changed over time to be a new reaction to other dogs. You are absolutely doing a SUPER job with Ris!!!!! I am again soooo incredibly PROUD of you both!! Risa is trusting you, and learning to trust the situation. You are making positive associations for her, giving her something ELSE to focus on and DO.. and she is feeling so much more confidant because of the work that you have put into her! YEAHHH!! This is HUGE!!!!!!!


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## Kayos and Havoc (Oct 17, 2002)

WOW that is AWESOME!!!!!!


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## Castlemaid (Jun 29, 2006)

Good girl Risa!!! You must be so proud! She has learnt that she can trust you to keep her safe. Excellent job on finding the good Risa inside and bringing it out!


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## DancingCavy (Feb 19, 2001)

Thanks guys. She wasn't quite as well-behaved today at the less-busy-than-yesterday park. But it wasn't her fault. We happened upon a dog chasing squirrels and two dogs playing and barking and the stimulation was just too much. She didn't bark or lunge, but she was really pulling on-lead. And so not interested in the treats I was trying to give her. After those two situations, she was back to her usual self at least.

She's such a good girl and I'm incredibly proud of her. It's taken a long time to really earn her trust (due to a lot of mistakes I made early on). But I'm glad to know things are finally getting better. We'll just take everything day by day and hope for the best.


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## ThreeDogs (Mar 16, 2007)

Awesome news!!! I know how hard it is to keep the focus of a dog who reacts to other dogs.

I know with Cyrus, the more we dogs we saw the better, we were able to work more with controlling his reactions. And now sometimes we can pass a dog and he's like _ya whatever _









Good job!!


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## Karin (Jan 4, 2008)

Good job, Risa! It's such a great feeling when they can actually walk past dogs without a reaction. When we first got Heidi, she lunged and growled at most dogs we passed. The treat method works very well with her and she will look up for a treat once she's passed the dog, and she'll usually turn away from the dog and look up at us immediately when we say "Yes!" However, a hard stare from a dominant dog can still set her off. It's definitely a work in progress with these dogs, but what a great feeling when they do well!


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## G-burg (Nov 10, 2002)

> Quote: She did not have ONE bad reaction the entire four-mile walk!



Good girl Risa!!


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