The Reactivity Two-Step

Looking for trouble...

Inevitably in working with almost any animal, let alone a reactive dog, progress is not always going to linear.  It's more akin to a kind of dance...two steps forward, one step back, maybe even feeling at times like you are going in circles.  Because Ruby's reactivity runs the full spectrum, from in the house to in the car and is triggered by practically anything that moves (dogs, joggers, bikes, skateboards, motorcycles...) we have our work cut out for us.  Training constantly can get exhausting and discouraging, so we sometimes opt for management instead.  That can mean anything from avoiding streets with a lot of pedestrians while in the car or staying in our relatively quiet town-home complex for walks.  

Because we practice a lot of avoidance on walks, it can be hard to gauge progress, but yesterday we had what I consider a minor success.   I had Ruby out on our lunchtime walk, and there was a gentleman going door to door with a clipboard.  "People carrying things" are normally highly suspect to Ruby, and before I had a chance to retreat, he started walking briskly toward us.  I prepared myself for barking and spinning, but as he passed right by, Ruby wagged her tail and tried to jump on him. Granted, this is not desirable behavior either, but I'll take it over the woofing whirling dervish!  I maintain that much of Ruby's reactivity toward dogs and people is based in frustration. I think she so badly wants to meet everyone that she can't control herself.  Bikes, skateboards and motorcycles are another story...those she wants to chase as well as being afraid of the sounds. 

On the frustration front,  Ruby has made a routine out of ferocious barking at the front window when several neighbor dogs are taken out for their walks.  She seems to know their schedule and stands on the back of the sofa with her head poked out the curtains, waiting to fly off the handle.  There are no treats or redirection that will interrupt her at this point, my only option being to hold the curtains closed until the dogs have gone by.  It takes her anywhere from 15 to 20 minutes to calm down after these episodes and I feel myself getting anxious as well.  Since practice makes perfect, I need to come up with a solution for this behavior.  I am considering this window film to obscure her view.  Thankfully there is only one window that she can see out of - the others are upstairs or blocked by our patio fencing.  Has anyone else tried this? 

In between...we enjoy each other! We continue to work on the relaxation protocol, have playdates with chug and labradoodle and corgi friends, play tug and fetch and learn new tricks.  The positive flip-side of Ruby's reactivity is her energy and intensity which can be channeled into fun games and amazing moments of communication.  With a reactive dog, there are always going to be ups and downs, triumphs and failures. The important thing is to keep looking ahead, celebrate the little victories and try not to dwell on the setbacks.

Spring Preview: A Playdate and Horsing Around

Happy Ruby Tuesday! I'm delighted that we have sprung forward into longer days and lighter evenings - Ruby and I are already taking advantage of more walking time and sunshine.  I've been taking her tug outside with us on some of my lunch breaks and playing with her on the clubhouse balcony where she can drag her leash and play some fetch.  I also got her a Nerf ball that we kick around on the common lawn.  It's encouraging that she can focus on play in the great outdoors, and I'm hoping we can use the tug especially as a training tool.  

Last Friday Ruby had a playdate at the baseball field with her Chug chum, Cosmo.  We are so lucky to have this just a short drive away, as it allows the dogs a safe place to run and play. There was one other dog there this time, another Jack Russell mix! She and Ruby had a rather stiff, hackle-y greeting but their tails were soon wagging and they mostly ignored one another. Ruby concentrated on playing chase with Cosmo and fetching her flying disc. The weather was just starting to change, and the damp field resulted in muddy white stockings for Ruby.  They ran around for about thirty minutes before the rain got heavier, and we left just as it really started to come down, later turning to snow.  Ruby had a bath back home - like most dogs, she doesn't love it but is fairly cooperative.  She does seem to enjoy the drying-off part, rolling around in the towel and acting silly, followed by a crazed case of the zoomies.  

On Sunday I needed to take some feed down to my horses and decided to let Ruby ride along. I forgot to put her Thundershirt on but she did fairly well on the trip, especially considering it was an unseasonably warm day and there were many motorcycles and cyclists out. When we see one of her triggers I say "peanut butter!" and offer her Treat Toob. She settled down once on the freeway and also did not get car-sick - hooray! Ruby has only met my horses on one previous occasion, before I moved them last fall. I walked her out to their pasture on her leash, and when they approached us, she panicked, barked madly at them and tried to escape, poor girl.  It wasn't what I was expecting - in fact I had named her after a fearless, salty horse-wrangler - but given her anxiousness and reactivity I shouldn't have been surprised.  

It was so beautiful out on Sunday, and I wanted to spend some time brushing my shedding horses, so I decided to take Ruby over to their pen to see how she would do.  She was cautiously curious, retreating if they made sudden movements but also wanting to sniff them, and she didn't bark at all! After initial introductions, I was able to loop her leash around the fence and ask her to stay on one side while I groomed flurries of black and white hair out of Coro and Notchee.  She eventually laid down to bask in the sun.  I was so impressed! I think the true turning point was Ruby's first taste of horse manure - a canine delicacy, and one that convinced her that horses are not so bad after all. There are also chickens, ducks, goats and barn cats where the horses live, so it was a really exciting day for Ruby. She curled up in the back seat for most of the ride home and was sleepy and snuggly the rest of the day. I considered our afternoon with the horses a wild success!

We've progressed to Day 5 of the Relaxation Protocol, and with only one bobble on the first time through yesterday I think it will be an easier one. Because of the layout of my house, I don't have a lot of options where I can do all of the various tasks, so I have to get creative with some of the numbers of steps. During one of the tasks Ruby flopped down dramatically into her "relax" position - laying flat on her side - as if to say "All right, already, I'm relaxed!" It was so funny. I like to reward her after the RP sessions with something more active and fun, so last night I turned two of my kitchen chairs over on their sides to make a little jump course for her. I am also working on leg weaves, and getting her into position on my right side in a sit (the cue we use for this is "get set.") 

I hope spring brings crocuses, mud-puddles and birdsong to your neck of the woods, and mine!

A Comfortable Routine and Vacation Care for the Reactive Dog

 

A few months after I adopted Ruby,  I went to a concert on Halloween night. Denver is lucky to be the hometown of the wonderful gypsy-rock ensemble, Devotchka, probably best known for the Little Miss Sunshine soundtrack.  They put on a fantastic show as always, with the band members decked out like skeleton Cossacks.  Their final number was a Beatles cover...of "Ruby Tuesday!" I was delighted; feeling like it was a special little nod to my new girl.  I grinned and sang along, swaying in my scarecrow-rabbit hybrid costume, thinking to myself "of all the songs!" I decided to devote Tuesdays here to the State of the Ruby, general updates about what we've been up to and what we've got in the wings.  

Yesterday marked six months since Ruby and I drove home in a tremendous summer thunderstorm from her foster family's house.  We've settled in to a fairly comfortable routine, one I'll be outlining for my father later in the week when my boyfriend and I leave for a long weekend in southern California.  We are meeting my two best college friends and one of their husbands, staying right on the beach, and I'm looking forward to a fun and relaxing time.  It helps to know that Ruby will be in her own home with a family member she knows well.  My dad would never admit to being much of a dog person, but he was devastated by the loss of our family dog, Scout, last year, and he loves Ruby. The last time he visited he proclaimed that Ruby was the smartest dog he's ever known, "the complete package."  He's aware of her reactivity issues and I trust him to practice avoidance strategies while walking her.  I don't expect anyone else to pick up my training routine, which is one reason I decided to cease Ruby's walks with the dog walker - she just visits for a potty break and play session now.  I think every dog does better when it knows what to expect, and this is even more important for a reactive dog.  It took some time to iron out our schedule, since doggy daycare did not work out (and in fact I suspect it contributed to our problems) and walks are more challenging than I anticipated, but Ruby and I have both adjusted well.  Here's what our regular days look like:

Weekday Routine

I have every other Friday off, so I alternate between a four- and five- day work week.  We wake up around 6 a.m., and Ruby is a very reliable alarm clock.  She goes out for a potty break and eats breakfast. In the mornings she eats high-quality canned food, and gets a cookie for cleaning her plate.  The kitty eats breakfast, laced with her thyroid medication, and any leftovers are placed on the floor in the living room so she has access to it when I close the dog gate between it and the kitchen, where Ruby spends the day.  I sometimes leave Ruby's Through A Dog's Ear CD playing on repeat, and she has two comfy beds and a Kong Genius toy filled with treats.  The dog visitor comes twice a week, and I have given her a list of all of Ruby's commands that they can work on.  I go home at lunch on the other days, and take Ruby for short walk around my townhome complex.  

In the evenings Ruby and I go for another walk - they are shorter now because it's already dark by the time I get home.  Sometimes we go to the nearby light-rail station to watch the people go by and practice Calming Ovals* in the parking lot, or just a more leisurely sniffabout on rabbit trails.  It's so cold that I'm doing less formal on-leash training - it's just too hard to juggle treats, clicker, gloves, and a leash.  Ruby's getting to be a real pro at her auto-sits when I stop, but I don't expect her to plonk her bottom down on the freezing cold concrete or snowy ground, so we are keeping things pretty casual until it starts to warm up.

After our evening walk, Ruby has "interactive dinner." This can be anything from kibble in a Nina Ottosson Treat Maze, working on tricks, or doing a Relaxation Protocol session.  Dinner is followed by a game of fetch or tug, sometimes both! The rest of the night Ruby will play with toys, beg for my dinner, and maybe have a bully stick or sweet potato chew.  She knows when it is time to go to call it a night, and readily accepts her boost on to my bed (although she can jump plenty high, the bedroom floor is slippery and offers her no traction).  

Weekend Routine

Our weekend routine is not terribly different than the work days, except there are longer walks, more training, more playing, and sometimes I get to sleep in until 7:30!  Ruby likes to follow me around while I do chores (except for vacuuming, during which I put her on the patio), play fetch down the stairs, and steal socks if the opportunity arises.  She likes to recline on the back of the sofa and watch the rabbits and squirrels out the living room window.  She has gotten better about people walking by, and I try to have treats on hand to reward non-reactive people-watching. She will still get worked into a frenzy when dogs go by, and when this happens I will divert her into the kitchen and close the curtains.  I try to keep my outings relatively short, and some weekends we travel to my aunt's or friend's houses and have bigger adventures.  We both really enjoy the extra time together, and I'm always wistful when the weekend draws to a close.  

I know I'm going to miss Ruby tremendously while on vacation, but I'm confident that she's in safe hands and am really looking forward to some sun and sand - the forecast high for Denver tomorrow is only four degrees! I think extended tug-o-war sessions are going to have to make up for abbreviated walks these next few days...

* This is a technique that I learned from a private training session after we dropped out of group obedience class.  I wasn't able to track down a very good explanation online, but essentially you walk in fast ovals with the dog at your side (on the outside).  I'm finding that it helps with heeling and shifting focus. 

Five Things I've Learned About the Relaxation Protocol

If you've been following along you know that Ruby and I have been working through Dr. Karen Overall's Relaxation Protocol.  The Relaxation Protocol is a series of increasingly difficult tasks that you and your dog complete. More correctly, you complete the tasks while your dog sits or lays on the mat. The idea is that the dog will a) gain impulse control in a variety of situations and b) associate the mat with a place for calm, relaxed behavior. In Ruby's case, this is very much an example of "fake it until you make it," since relaxation does not come naturally to her. The tasks range from walking around the dog to ringing the doorbell. A more detailed post about it is here, and today I thought I'd share a few things that I've learned so far:

A Corgi Playdate and Other Adventures

Ruby afield

Ruby had a wonderful weekend filled with corgis, labradoodles, adventurous walks and new stuff.   We set out on Friday morning, heading south in my Subaru.  Ruby has been getting car sick on a regular basis, so I fed her a very light breakfast several hours before we left.  I'm happy to report that we had a vomit-free journey! She donned her Thundershirt which seems to help with her anxiousness and reactivity in the car, and cued up her Through a Dog's Ear CD.  We made a quick stop at the farm store to pick up senior feed for my horses, who are boarded out on the eastern plains.  Ruby likes to go in to the feed store - there is always someone to say "hi" to, dog chews to choose from, and a cat or two hanging about.  She got some bully sticks and some Whimzees alligators, (although I call them "crock-ee-dyles") as well as compliments on her green ensemble.  I took her for a little walk at the barn, where she enjoyed sniffing in the tall grass.  She is still uncertain about horses, though they really wanted to check her out!  She waited in the car while I gave some treats to my Paso Fino gelding, Coro, and my Arabian mare, Notchee. You can see a picture of them here.  

The Ginger Brigade, L-R: Ruby, Walter, Preacher

Our next stop was Infinity Farm, where my friend and former trainer lives with her menagerie of horses, ponies, llamas, goats, ducks and most importantly for the purposes of this story, dogs.  Anna has two rescued corgis in her fantastic care: Walter and Preacher, as well as a labradoodle named Finny who Ruby adores chewing on.  This was Ruby and Preacher's first meeting, and they hit it off splendidly, spending hours covering each other in spit.  Walter prefers human company and was glad to leave the roughhousing to the other two, although he enjoys policing their antics with his authoritative quacking.  Ruby even managed to find some leopard-print slippers for a game of tug-o-war.  We reluctantly said our goodbyes as the sun started to set, and left for my aunt's house where Ruby had a second string of dogs to exhaust: my aunt's labradoodle, Hachi, and Aussie/spaniel mix, Stevezey.

finally crashed on Friday night

view from our hike in Palmer Park

On Saturday morning we loaded the dogs in my aunt's Jeep (Rubicon, appropriately) and took them for a hike in Palmer Park above Colorado Springs.  We met several joggers at the trail head and Ruby barked a little.  We had the snowy, slippery trail mostly to ourselves, encountering one off-leash husky-mix and a man with a beagle.  I picked Ruby up both times since the trail was narrow, and turned her away as they passed.  I was quick enough that she hardly noticed the husky, but she did some shrieking about the beagle.  The man, who was walking his perfectly well-behaved beagle on-leash, apologized to me! I was stunned and replied that my dog was the one with the problem! On our way back we started seeing a lot of mountain bikers on the trails below, but luckily were only passed by a few.  At this point Ruby was pretty riled up and I was happy to get back to the car.  She and Stevezey fell asleep on the way home.

sleepy Jeep dogs

My aunt and I went out for lunch and some shopping while the dogs stayed with my Grandma.  Gram had many dogs over the years and loves seeing Ruby's latest tricks.  I needed a new bed for Ruby since there was a hole in her old one (which had been Freya's) and she had started pulling the stuffing out.  I found a cute peach bolster bed in her size, as well as a little kitty hut for my cat, Nina.  Nina is 17 years old and her favorite place to sleep is by the heat register in my upstairs bathroom, so now she will have a warm, comfy den where no dogs are allowed!  Ruby and I had an uneventful trip home until a stop at the grocery store - I had planned to run in quickly but she was barking at people in the parking lot so I did not want to leave her stressed out in the car and opted to take her home first.  She was exhausted, almost too tired to check out her Hero Dog Box which had arrived!

  

More goodies!

testing out her new bed

Ruby was very mellow for the rest of Saturday and Sunday, but we went on some short walks, worked on some new tricks, and practiced the Relaxation Protocol.  Somewhat discouragingly, we are stuck on only Day 3, but we made some real progress the last few sessions and I think we are close to completing it.  She has started laying her head down, and even sometimes laying on her side like her "relax" cue.  I have found that I need to be sure she has had some exercise first, and is interested in food but not too hungry.  I use her regular kibble as treats for that work - soft or smelly treats are a bit too exciting when the objective is to relax.

I was really proud of Ruby this weekend: she met a new dog, went hiking in a busy place, and played nicely with her dog cousins.  She is truly happier around other dogs that she knows, and I am moving forward with being a foster for the American Eskimo rescue...more to come on that front soon!

Five Ways Ruby Made Me Proud This Week

~ Held a down-stay while the cat exited the room right behind her

~ Performed "sit," "paw," and even the newly-learned "bye-bye" (wave) for a stranger (vet tech) in a strange place 

~ Learned a new behavior - "paws up" despite initial suspicion of the step-stool

~ Walked on a loose leash wearing only her flat collar with frequent auto-sits and auto-watch check-ins

~ Did not chase all the rabbits