Low Points and Moving Forward

So, last Wednesday, Sagan left a run in agility class and "found" a kenneled dog that he tried to attack from 3 different directions.

The world stopped for me, and I cried for 2 days.  NEVER had Sagan gone after a kenneled, "safe" dog. His issues had always been on leash.  Compound this with 3 weeks of unfocused work in class.  Compound this with 3 weeks of hating the same innocuous dog in rally class.

I was really ready to throw in the towel.

I have three dogs I can take nowhere.  I have three dogs I cannot trust.  The frustration is intense and very real.  The sense of failure is overwhelming.  The sense of humiliation that my dog is capable of dropping focus to try to attack another dog....priceless.

We saw our behaviorist on Saturday.  We did a lot of talking and a lot of playing.  No protocols.  She just tried to figure out where we were and where we could go from here.  She suggested:

1) lowering expectations (no expectation to compete in rally or agility).  Lower expecations, work with him, and forget about lofty thoughts.
2) stopping attending to the behavior. Try ignoring insofar as he is not practicing insane reactions.  When running, I shorten the leash, let him whimper, try to lunge.  Don't say anything, don't look at him, don't give treats, etc.  Tried this Tuesday.  Moderate success.  I didn't even carry treats with me on our Tuesday run.
3) Continue BAT.  This wasn't specifically a recommendation, but I just started this and want to play it out.
4) Get a bike attachment and get him moving FAST past other dogs without a chance to escalate his emotions.

Our agility instructor is trying to help. Class this week went fine, though Sagan is not as exceptional as a border collie should be, and not to the level he was 3 weeks ago.  I am strongly thinking private lessons will be the norm here and we will phase out group classes.  Strongly thinking agility trials will not be a thing we shoot for.   Adjusting thinking: we take him to agility classes to exercise his brain.  We will not be competing him.

Our rally instructor is trying to help. Dogs are kenneled for walk-throughs.  For whatever dumb reason, Sagan cannot STAND another dog in class.  I managed the situation (with help) on Sunday, but I am prepared to REMOVE HIM the F*)*@#()*$ from class if he continues the ridiculousness.  The dog is not staring at him, not looking at him, not running spastically across the room.  In the right circumstance/distance, I will let him react and have his tantrum.  Otherwise, same place with rally.  We are not going to pursue titles with him.

Depressing, but being realistic.  This dog is too reactive to continue in group classes with excitement.

I really enjoy training Sagan, and experience success in that.  I will continue BAT with him (it is still young), and am sure we will acclimate to the experience.

I do not enjoy acclimating Sagan to the real world.

It is a challenge to continue pushing.  The temptation is there to stop the fight and just let him be a "home dog."  If he were any but a border collie, I would have resigned to this a long time ago.

Next steps/decisions:

1) Determine if I can keep him in rally class.  Probability:  80% as far as I'm concerned.
2) Determine if I can keep him in group agility class.  Probability:  30%.  With good kenneling, disaster averted.  Focus is abysmal.
3) Determine if I want to do private agility lessons.  Probability:  70%.  I think he is capable of amazing things, but only with no other dogs present.
4) Determine if I can trust him as a running partner.  Probability: 60%.  Fine/manageable on leash. Off leash dog...sunk in the water.
5) Determine if nosework is an appropriate class for him.  Probability: 90%.  I am told this class is perfect for reactive dogs.
6) Determine if bike attachment is feasilble/logistically possible/helpful.  Probability:  90%.  Need to buy bike and bike attachment.

This has not been a fabulous week.  I swear if I were anyone else, Sagan would have ended up in the humane society by now.  I love that guy, and am committed to his progress, BUT.....

Owning a Reactive Dog

So after a few tears last night and thinking of how all of this must be perceived by other people with even-tempered dogs, I thought I might share a few quotes with you about what the experience is like.  Understand this is not so much wallowing as it is commiserating with those with reactive dogs and trying to somewhat educate those without as to what it is like being me, with THREE (count them, three) reactive dogs.

 I am out here for you. You don't know what it's like to be ME out here for YOU. It is an up-at-dawn, pride-swallowing siege that I will never fully tell you about, ok? -Jerry Maguire

I take my dog out in the "real world" with a bunch of other unreliable dogs and people who think they know how to interact with dogs.  Despite my best planning about which way to face my car, when to open the door, when to let my dog see you, how close to get, and what method of behavior modification I choose, I won't win some (30%) of the battles I enter.  Then the uninitiated judge how I must have abused my dog/not socialized my dog/not trained my dog.  It is a "pride-swallowing siege"....for certain.

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Andy Dufresne: You know what the Mexicans say about the Pacific? 

Red: No. 

Andy Dufresne: They say it has no memory. That's where I want to live the rest of my life. A warm place with no memory. 

Having had three reactive dogs (Winnie would bite another dog, Doppler doesn't like small dogs, and unneutered male dogs, Sagan generally leash reactive), I wish I was not developing a pattern with dogs.  I was very conscious with Sagan to not predetermine anything with him, yet he still ended up with the problem.  Does make one wonder....is there a way to find a place with no memory with my next dog?

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Wake up
Well it's nice to meet you
Do you have a name?
'Cause I would like to teach you, baby
Alright
If it's unfamiliar
When the sharks are swimming
We will watch them kill ya, baby
Yeah, you
I'm a little shocked
'Cause I can see the future
Lookin' through your eyes
Tonight
Don't you fall asleep
Don't you fall
It's only gonna take a little time
-AWOLNATION




A conversation with Sagan....LOL.  Sometimes I wonder if he thinks this is what I do with him...watch sharks kill him.  I feel like I plead with him to trust me.

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"There is nothing more difficult to take in hand, more perilous to conduct, or more uncertain in its success, than to take the lead in the introduction of a new order of things."


— Niccolo Machiavelli
The Prince (1532)






Where I feel like I'm at. I don't know that I have the leadership skills to affect the kind of change I'm looking for. Wish me luck!

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If you have a reactive dog, hopefully this resonates with you.  If you don't, hopefully this helps you understand some of the stresses those of with reactive dogs go through.

BAT: Setups 2 and 3 & Reflections on Classes

So, we continue to work with Sagan on BAT setups. The second one I tried with with Sadie, an SBT from my agility class. Sadie has a certain zest for life. Behold:

I tried an altered protocol with Sadie.  I have this hypothesis that Sagan's reactivity on leash comes mostly from frustration.  Though he does/can feel threatened and trapped, I think most of it is frustration.  So they played off leash before agility class.  Then at the end of class, I let them meet nose to nose on leash.  Success with this short encounter.

The third set-up I did was with Sagan's previous obedience instructor, and three of her pack:  Cooper (a Newfoundland), Tess, and Bert (a terrier mix).  Sagan met Tess a long time ago, but had not met the other two.  We did all of this classic BAT setup, mostly without food.  There were minimal snarks when noses accidentally touched, but nothing inappropriate.

We did some nice side-by-side treating, and then Sagan got to meet Cooper off leash.  Boy, did they romp and wrestle (for as long as a large Newfie can romp and wrestle) :-)  

Rally class continues to go well, though Sagan REALLY hates this lab (mix?) named Leon in class.  I can't quite figure it out, but he is settling down SOME in class now.  Class is packed right now with six dogs and humans, so it is a management challenge each day to ensure he is safe and not getting pushed over threshold.

Agility also continues to go well.  Nichole (who owns Sadie, pictured above) taped several of our runs. Sagan has not been super focused here or in rally lately, but you get the drift:

We've also been teaching the weave poles at home, using guides and channels.  The weaves are currently 3" apart....  with no guides, Sagan squirts out about every 5th run on a miscellaneous pole.

So Sagan is almost 15 months old.  This has been a whirlwind of a ride so far.  I find myself periodically switching between being super proud of him, and still getting caught up in "the dog I thought I was signing up for."  If that sounds sad, and a little pathetic, it probably is.  Sometimes I think I've failed him somehow, and sometimes I think he came messed up.  Regardless, I really feel like I need to view our classes right now as a culminating accomplishment, rather than a means to an end.  The reality is that I may never compete him.  The thought upsets me not because I am competitive, but because the reason he may never be competition ready is....I don't know that I have the gumption and time necessary to help his reactivity.  It is my top priority right now, but I feel like with my skillset and problem-solving abilities, there is only so much I am going to be able to do.  I feel guilty because I'm sure he *could* be a good competition dog.

.....sidenote......No wonder so many dogs from busy families end up in the shelters.  I'm fairly certain Sagan could have been one of those dogs.

I love Sagan to bits, and we are managing quite well.  I only wish I didn't feel I had to "manage" him and that we could just enjoy these classes together.

Alright, so as not to end on a negative, here's 2 stars and a wish, which I started earlier and need to keep doing.

2 stars:

1) Sagan's people reactivity is virtually non-existent about 95% of the time.  And with the 5% worry, I can tell it is going to happen and prevent the situation.

2) Sagan's recall in agility is getting better, and I don't have to tote him around by his collar all the time to keep him with me.  Excellent.

1 wish:

1) To have Sagan's reactivity limited to a dog invading a small bubble of his personal space.  That his bubble decreases significantly in the next few months as we work these protocols.