This afternoon we attended week 3 of our Control Unleashed class. Jacques the papillon's mother brought along a boy who looked about 10 years old. Dragon is somewhat fearful of children, as is one of his other classmates, so the humans were happy to have a chance to do desensitization with this calm, well-mannered boy.
We did some mat work and crate work, of course, rewarding our dogs for calmly taking in the environment. Then the instructor had the boy walk in a circle around the classroom and we played the "Look at that!" game. Dragon's cue for the game is "Who's that?" It means that he should look at a person or dog nearby, and I will reward him for looking. It gives him an opportunity to get some information about who is around him, within a structure that lets him know that I will keep him safe and he'll get goodies. Over time, the sight of the things that had made him nervous becomes no big deal, and they're just something to glance at and then move on.
I don't come into contact with many children, and I really should make more of an effort to find some, so I can work to help Dragon overcome his anxiety sooner. However, thanks to my roommate's 8 year old daughter and the two neighbors of a similar age, he is quickly gaining confidence. Younger children, especially babies and toddlers, still evoke a growl when he hears them. They are unpredictable and make strange noises and movements -- in fact, toddlers are the most difficult age group for dogs be comfortable with. Dragon may be learning that 8-10 year olds are okay, but that won't change his opinions of children younger or older than that unless we specifically work with those age groups.
At the end of class, because I was confident that Dragon would be able to interact appropriately with the boy as long as it was a calm, controlled interaction, I asked the boy to sit on the floor and let Dragon approach him. Dragon carefully sniffed him all over, and on my cue of "go say hi", started climbing onto the boy's legs and planted his back feet on his lap. I fed him extra-yummy treats and had the boy give him a couple of treats. I am intentionally teaching him to back his ass up onto laps because it's a good intermediate step between no physical contact and having someone reach for his head to pet him, as humans instinctively do, yet dogs dislike. This way (when I see that he's comfortable enough) I can let the child pet his back, a less threatening gesture which provides a clearer escape route should the dog feel he needs it.
Next we practiced what's commonly called "leave it." I use the cue "off limits," because it feels like a silly cue rather than a harsh command for the dog to do something, and I wanted to avoid attaching any negativity to the cue. I had not taught it to him systematically but he had picked up some vague sense of the meaning -- turn away from what you're sniffing and focus back on me. I had used the cue with him previously in situations where I could use the leash to prevent him from moving farther toward an "off limits" item in the street, and I would reward him when he moved away or looked at me. I had also used it a few times in conjunction with my hand covering something I didn't want him to reach for. However Dragon is a soft dog and any body blocks or use of my hand to block his access are a stressor for him.
In class I practiced putting some treats on the floor and cuing "off limits." Dragon successfully moved away from the treats but quickly started skirting far around them to get back to me, not wanting to receive any "rebuke" for stepping too close. I had him do some hand touches to get him walking close to the treats without needing to focus on their presence, which helped to increase his confidence in the exercise. The treats on the floor are not out to get him!
I also asked the instructor to walk by and drop some treats nonchalantly from her hand, and within 3 reps Dragon would automatically look at me instead of trying to reach the food on the ground. Then I had her put some treats on the ground while he wasn't looking and cued "off limits" when he noticed them. He turned back to me but became nervous again and started avoiding the food. I cued him to move with me at my side and practiced walking by the food until he was more relaxed, and ended the exercise. (This is an example of the fact that dogs are much more comfortable and successful when their humans make it clear what the dog should be doing, rather than just teaching what they shouldn't do but not providing a clear alternative.)
The last thing we did was practice the "Give Me a Break" game within a box of ring gates. On our way into the ring Dragon wagged his tail and sniffed every piece of lint intently, hoping to stumble on more treats. Once in the ring he was not focused on working like he had been during the previous two weeks -- he spent a lot of time scavenging the ground! Unfortunately he did manage to find a few treats left behind from the previous class. Fail. He learned the opposite of what was intended. This can be remedied, of course. During our future training sessions, I will practice with food scattered on the ground, out of reach at first, and then closer and closer as he learns that he should ignore it and instead work with me. I will have to move and manage his movements carefully to prevent him from quickly snatching the treats up but also avoid stressing him out with too many body blocks. If I'm successful in laying a strong foundation with this concept, it will pay off for years to come in future classes and competitions.
In a similar concept, Dragon is already well on his way to automatically ignoring any food that I drop. If I have clicked or used another reward marker, or if I'm praising him, and I toss or drop food, he is free to eat it and happily does so. However if I accidentally drop a treat or human food in a moment that I'm not engaging him, I expect him to ignore it. I taught this by quickly, reflexively covering up the food or picking it up. Because he has never gotten the opportunity to snatch it up, and sometimes I hand it to him as a reward, his automatic response is to leave it alone.
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