A lot of people will probably stop reading this when I said I tried the prone collar on Goldie. But a lot of people don't understand prone collar is only used for training. It's should not be used forever. It's a tool for a period of time (during training). You don't expect your dog to wear it inside the house or in bed.
When small dog owners let their dog bark at bigger ones, all the pedestrians might think that's so CUTE. When Goldie does the same to the smaller dogs, people would want me to control and calm her down. To the extreme, a lady swore at me in the off leash park. She was upset when Goldie chest bumped her small dog when her dog barked at Goldie.
What's wrong in the picture? Am I not walking her enough, letting her socializing with other dogs nor teaching her like a kid? Dogs need stimulation. Walking in the downtown cores is not a fun experience. There are a lot of people, a lot of cars, a lot of dogs and a lot of noise. And dogs are constantly fighting their own space with others on the side walk. Dogs are animal not wearing shoes nor clothes. Sidewalk becomes sizzling hot in the summer and irritating in the winter due to the salt. Can you imagine you have to be on leash and walk bare feet. Then you need to deal with the surrounding at the same time. STRESSFUL.
Before I used the prone collar, I asked myself questions. Did I try other methods? Of course, I did. I talked to her while we were walking. I made sure she make eye contact and I had good treats in my pockets. I took her out early in the morning and it's a good time for her to focus on me because the streets are a lot more quiet than rush hours. She was doing great but I just can't stop her from charging at other dogs while she was on leash. I can't expect other dog owners walking back and fro to teach Goldie not to charge. I also tried to bring toys and clicker with me. And she was getting better and better but again, I can't stop her from charging at other dogs.
Why would she do that? Frustration? Aggression? Goldie doesn't charge at dogs she knows. She charges at dogs she doesn't know and those dogs are staring most of the time. If another dog is walking calmly and Goldie will not charge at all, they will just meet and leave.
Let's assume Goldie has minor level of aggression. She doesn't take No from other dogs for sure. She becomes territorial in the park. She becomes a bouncer but she doesn't stop dogs from coming in. Goldie only wants the dogs calm and be nice. That makes me hesitate to bring her to the park when a lot of dogs are there. (I meant 20+ dogs in a small fence area)
So how can I change her behavior? Training her with the prone collar is an OPTION not a writing on the wall. I like the fact that she is a quick learner, she knows she shouldn't pull the leash right away. She walks beside me at my pace. I praise her a lot and make sure she knows it's good.
At this point, I am still working on charging. At least now Goldie is not trying to run against the motocyclists while she is on leash. How long does it take to change this behavior? 4 hours in total
Like I said , this is just training, prone collar shouldn't use for long term.
Oh, what is the assessment results of Goldie last Saturday? Prone collar is one of the tools we will use for now
No comments:
Post a Comment