• Dave Page

    Member
    February 5, 2019 at 11:31 pm
    0
    21
    384

    Thanks for the tips Micheal. Greatly appreciate it.

    Yesterday, to date is the best video I have been able to get of his mode.

    https://youtu.be/GJlwl3vsqok

    One of those “Mondays” had me frustrated, tense. Not at Chet, mostly ignored him, but shows example of how my emotions can effect him. His major episode was minutes before this. I had muzzled him when I saw him getting edgy, and at that place I got him out to potty. When I called him back I was sitting. He was nervous, bristled all over. My foot slipped from where I was sitting and the quick movement really set him off. If he wasn’t muzzled he might would have snapped.

    He had gotten back into the truck, and I needed something out of it. He got out easily, but still remained nervous.

    I am going back to basics with him again. Gotta rebuild trust. Even though I stopped the door so his tail got pinched instead of crushed, it seems in his mind I’m the one who hurt him intentionally and caused a slight rift. Without thinking tried to pat him to let him know it was okay and unintentional, as I do all my dogs, and the hands set him off. He didn’t attack but it was close. He did try crowding me with a short dominant display as well.

    Besides serious muzzle training additional changes I am making also:

    He will be staying home for some time for safety. Drive a standard and can’t have him getting edgy over it just in case.

    Work on counter conditioning.

    As he has learned a lot from watching me working with the others continue to do the same within his view.

    Work to make place command more stable.

    See if a harness changes his attitude in those cases as he gets excited when he sees it.