The behaviorists that we worked with (one at home and one at her place) were one time sessions only, which frustrated me. It was like $500 to meet with them once, and then we were allowed to call/email whenever we wanted. However, anytime I asked a questions, they were like "Schedule another session with us, and we can work on it."
This boot camp will bring us back on the last day and train us along with her, so we can use everything she learned. And then the follow up sessions are both at home, so we can practice.
I think this is the problem. I'd find a behaviorist who has weekly classes. A one-time session is not going to help you fix this problem. We've had very similar issues with M, and working with a behaviorist weekly for a while helped significantly. Ours offers a class for reactive dogs, and I'd say that yours would fall into this category. The entire class deals with all of the problems you're having.
I spend ~$400 a month to animal behaviorists to work with my neurotic dog. We're way over $1200 at this point, but we're committed to giving our dog a good, safe home, and that's what it costs us to continue meeting that goal. So we pay it.
I would not do this if it is not specifically a reactive rover type training environment. You need a reactive dog class first, followed by a basic obedience class. If you guys are at the point where you can not even get her to look at another dog without freaking out, plowing through more obedience training is really not going to solve the problem. She doesn't just need to learn that it's safe to look to you as a leader, she also needs to learn how to handle all of her emotions so that she can even DO that. A reactivity class is going to focus heavily on desensitization and then specific counter conditioning exercises in controlled environments (not your house). Depending on the distance she is able to have with another dog, you might be able to just start with an obedience class. If she is able to exist in a room with other dogs, you can totally do the class from the sidelines and request some extra coaching on watching for her calming signals so that you can start counter conditioning.
I'm leaning towards a trainer problem rather than a dog problem. Did you learn about calming signals, chemical stress responses, or facial indicators to differentiate between aggression and over stimulation? If not, your trainer sucked for this. Was the behaviorist you worked with an ACAAB or CAAB? If not, you did not work with a behaviorist, you worked with a trainer. ACAAB and CAABs are the only accreditation that certifies a person as an actual behaviorist. There are lots of trainers that are adept at dealing with reactivity problems, but no trainer should be charging $500 for a session.
In regards to the jumping on people when they come in the door issue... I do a Quesera version of this, in that I trained something different to avoid the issue in the first place. We didn't specifically train him to not jump as people are coming in, we trained him to go to his crate as soon as someone knocks. He has an extremely difficult time controlling his stimulation level if he is allowed to greet someone as they are walking in the door, and I understand that. In addition, that is the wrong time to be telling someone how to respond to your dog and it's usually ignored and every jump they get in reinforces the habit. So he goes to his crate for 10 - 15 minutes while everyone gets in and settled and then by the time he comes out, it's a nonissue. He's chilled out, I've been able to communicate to my guests the importance of ignoring him, and I am in a better position to address his behavior quickly. Sometimes you have to pick your battles. I've been lovingly jumped on by behaviorists dogs, by therapy dogs, by dogs who compete in competitive obedience, it's kind of just something some dogs do. So we worried about a calm on leash greeting for out of the home situations and relied on the tools we have available to us at home to avoid the excessive greeting entirely.
Post by AHappierHour on Oct 31, 2013 11:24:25 GMT -5
I did this with my American bulldog I had. He went away for a few weeks and was trained. The 3rd week he stayed there and we came every other day and we were trained on how to deal with him. And then they came to our home and taught us there.
My dog was very big and strong and I wanted to make sure I was able to handle him at all times. It worked well for us.
Would I? No. But to be honest, I'm the asshole who wouldn't rescue a dog when I was in the process of getting pregnant, and might even rehome one to my mom (who loves dogs) if I found out I was pregnant while I had an aggressive dog. That is why I don't have a dog. I'd make a crap dog owner. Having said that: if I imagine me as a person who had rescued a dog, I would absolutely do it if I thought it was our best option.
Oh, Tizzie. I know you guys have done anything you could think of to help her with this...but I have no advice that hasn't already been given. Just sympathy, because you know how my two are. These dogs of ours are lucky they're so cute, huh?
Would I? No. But to be honest, I'm the asshole who wouldn't rescue a dog when I was in the process of getting pregnant, and might even rehome one to my mom (who loves dogs) if I found out I was pregnant while I had an aggressive dog. That is why I don't have a dog. I'd make a crap dog owner. Having said that: if I imagine me as a person who had rescued a dog, I would absolutely do it if I thought it was our best option.
TO be fair though, we didn't know we were pregnant until after we signed the papers and brought her home.
I totally get what you're all saying. I'm going to look into other options, such as reactive-specific trainings.
And yes, every person we've seen (except for our first Petco class when we got her in early 2010) was a certified behaviorist from those databases. One told us that her leash-aggression was the worst she's ever seen and to NEVER leave her alone with our kid. We don't, but she's never paid much attention to him. If he's making too much noise, or bothering her, she goes up to her crate to hide. We are still very vigilant, though, just in case.
Sigh. She really really is SUCH a lover. All she wants is to be on/next to/with us (okay, mostly DH) all the time that she can. Belly rubs, ear scratches, etc. Attention galore, please! She will be our only and last dog, ever, though b/c it's been so hard.
Would I? No. But to be honest, I'm the asshole who wouldn't rescue a dog when I was in the process of getting pregnant, and might even rehome one to my mom (who loves dogs) if I found out I was pregnant while I had an aggressive dog. That is why I don't have a dog. I'd make a crap dog owner. Having said that: if I imagine me as a person who had rescued a dog, I would absolutely do it if I thought it was our best option.
TO be fair though, we didn't know we were pregnant until after we signed the papers and brought her home.
I totally get what you're all saying. I'm going to look into other options, such as reactive-specific trainings.
And yes, every person we've seen (except for our first Petco class when we got her in early 2010) was a certified behaviorist from those databases. One told us that her leash-aggression was the worst she's ever seen and to NEVER leave her alone with our kid. We don't, but she's never paid much attention to him. If he's making too much noise, or bothering her, she goes up to her crate to hide. We are still very vigilant, though, just in case.
Sigh. She really really is SUCH a lover. All she wants is to be on/next to/with us (okay, mostly DH) all the time that she can. Belly rubs, ear scratches, etc. Attention galore, please! She will be our only and last dog, ever, though b/c it's been so hard.
I wasn't judging you (well, actually I was in that I think you have made great efforts and are a great dog owner). I think it's great that people rescue dogs. I just don't. My mom has wanted a dog for 45 years but didn't get one because my father was allergic. Now that he has passed, she wants one but can't bite the bullet. (I think it would be one more way to close that door, kwim?) When I read your post, my first thought was to rehome to her. And thinking that reminded me why I don't have a dog.
Speaking of which, you are fairly close by, right? Wanna give my mom your dog? (Just kidding. But I really do need to help her find one).
Have you had her full thyroid panel run? Should include T3, T4, free T3, free T4 and Thyroglobulin Autoantibody. Most vets are working with outdated information and run T4 only which is not enough for dogs. I ask because beagles have some of the highest prevalence of thyroid conditions, more so than golden retrievers, and I can tell you from being involved in the golden retriever community that it is EVERYWHERE. Hypothyroid can absolutely cause phobias and severe behavioral problems in dogs. We had zero change in reactive behavior with mood stabilizing drugs, but suddenly made a substantial amount of progress in reactivity training after starting soloxine.
I thought about rehoming her about a billion times. It was SO hard to walk a reactive dog when I was pg, and then I was terrified to walk her when DS was a little baby. DH was against it, though. He said that we committed to her. I was also in the thick of PPA/PPD, so that made everything worse.
If she ever showed a smidge of aggression towards him, she'd be out, but we carefully monitor them together. He knows how to pet her gently and to never take things from her, or climb on her, etc.
Have you had her full thyroid panel run? Should include T3, T4, free T3, free T4 and Thyroglobulin Autoantibody. Most vets are working with outdated information and run T4 only which is not enough for dogs. I ask because beagles have some of the highest prevalence of thyroid conditions, more so than golden retrievers, and I can tell you from being involved in the golden retriever community that it is EVERYWHERE. Hypothyroid can absolutely cause phobias and severe behavioral problems in dogs. We had zero change in reactive behavior with mood stabilizing drugs, but suddenly made a substantial amount of progress in reactivity training after starting soloxine.