Bammie Training Challenge: Day 20

Sometimes you get the perfect training day handed to you. Yesterday was such a day for us. We ran into four cats and two dogs! As you know, a primary purpose of my training is to teach me to walk past dogs without barking. But cats are even worse for me! There is one in our neighborhood who taunts me, and I want to chase them all!

Even though I was able to walk past Mom's friend at a great distance, I had a difficult time looking at her, so this week, she has spent a lot of time practicing "look" on walks. Since there is no way I can do it with a distraction if I can't do it without one, she has been practicing just asking me to look at random, particularly with low level distractions, like smells. I have been doing a lot better and know now when to look. However, it is still hard with distractions.

When the first cat bolted in front of me, Mom knew she had her training cut out for her. I started to leap and whine. She asked me to look but I couldn't do it. So she just kept walking. As I started to calm down, she asked again. I couldn't do it. She kept walking. On the third try, I was able to look at her. She gave me a big reward. When we saw the second cat, it was stationary, so Mom asked for a look. I was able to give her one at the beginning and another one when the cat was out of sight. Each cat, I got a little faster. By the time we got to the park and saw the dog, I was able to look at Mom almost the entire time we walked past him. That was a piece of cake!

When you are working with your reactive dog, remember that you may not always get a response. It's really hard! Sometimes, we just can't focus. So be patient. Ask again a few steps later. When your dog finally does it, reward!!! Each day, your dog will respond a little sooner and for a little longer. Keep building on that.

Whew. That was tough. I hope I have an easier day tomorrow! Love, Bammie