Home Creators Posts Import Register Favorites Logout
haven't archived this post yet. have a subscription? use the importer!

Downloads

  • 324370332.mp4

Missing 1 video, as this post has not yet been imported.

Content

I recently was out for a walk, when we started hearing gunshots. While this didn't scare Whip, it did startle us both because it was unexpected. Having a plan for what to do when something like that happens can be really helpful!

While each dog is different, my go-to in these situations is to immediately go into pattern mode and started playing her "Drive By Treat Bowling" Game. Having a pattern game that the dog practices playing frequently (and not just when something unexpected happens) can be really helpful!

This is also a plug for always having a small amount of food or toy reinforcement on you, even for a fully trained dog. Sometimes you just run into something unexpected that you'd like to have some reinforcement for!

Happy Training ya'll!

Comments

Melody Townsend

So great!!! Thank you for the go to reminder!! Love it!!!

Lindsay

Thanks for sharing this! Amazing you got some of it on camera. I have done this before and it does work really well, but one question I've always wondered is how/if to fade the reward. This seems to imply that you don't need the reward once your dog seems unphased. 1) loud sound 2) dog has low grade response 3) recall 4) play game. So if the dog never responds then the recall and the game never happens. Correct?

DOGGY•U

So like in a lot of things in dog training, the answer is "it depends". I don't want to take a nice response for granted, so I will definitely spontaneously reward positive responses to challenging stimuli. But in this particular case we'd been hearing the gunshots of a good 10 minutes at this point and when she had the non-reaction rep (and did that a couple times) I quit with the game as she was "over it" and moving on with the walk was more reinforcing. It's not wrong to continue to reinforce positive reactions (for example, when a dog is lighting up at Whip, even when she doesn't react to the barking, I'll still often reinforce her good choice with either a game or reward) but I don't need to do it all the time.

EM

i love this! upping the value of the treat with a game! thanks for sharing!!

S C

Excellent! We hear gun shots almost every week, living in a rural area, so my pup doesn't care about those (though sirens are abnormal and he'll perk up then). However, I'm prepping him to come to a big medieval camping trip next month, where there will be canon fire at random intervals every day. I feel like he may think that's a totally different level compared to rifle shots, so we'll be employing this strategy for sure.

DOGGY•U

Yes that definitely might feel different! As I recommended to a few others above, getting those sounds on youtube and training around them can be a good way to start prepping at home, and then just making sure there's lots of distance for beginning exposure at the fair. Have fun!

Wiyan Wakan

I'm experiencing this right now in the stores. Slamming, huge, scaffolding ladders ( I jumped too) and those motorized carts! They make a weird hum we don't even notice as humans! I started to do the engage -disengage thing and that really worked. I made noise which brought her back to focus. Then we leave the area for a minute and come back when they are done or we approach again and she has a better handle on it. The next hurdle is kids barking at her. I gotta find some kids.... 😂

Zeke or Storm

I'm autistic, and I worry that how activated I am by noises will activate my pup, but I'm having him professionally trained by an organization without me for a year before we start our year of training together with guidance from the org, so hopefully that makes a big difference?

DOGGY•U

Having someone else train for the first year would definitely be helpful in that situation. Having a plan for yourself as well (like perhaps tossing a cookie scatter on the floor when you’re triggered by a loud noise) can be helpful in counteracting associations. Hopefully the org is also picking a dog for you that is less influenced/worried by the humans emotions/behavior.

Jo Onthego

Great ideas! I made a recent super loud thunderstorm a party recently. We had treats, clapping, happy noises from me, etc. It worked out great!

RedBanana

Just curious, with how you let a long lead drag along the floor on some walks, how often do they need cleaning? (I’m just curious because where I live/walk my dog, if I did that it’d need properly cleaning after every walk because of how much rain we get).

DOGGY•U

Great question! I only use biothane lines (not cotton) so they are waterproof. If they get dirty, they dry and the dirt falls off, or you can just use a towel to wipe it down after use and it's brand new again. Here's one I like and use: https://amzn.to/41lQVHZ