Luko had another day in town today. This field trip was much longer than his first one. I parked at my apartment at 6th and Maine and walked him down a bustling 6th street. We passed kids walking home from school, a man in a funny hat with ear flaps, and a girl with a big purse. He tucked his tail at the man in the hat but other than that ignored everyone he passed. Lawrence went above and beyond in providing strange people for distractions on Mass. street. All of the colorful characters emerge on the first nice day after a crummy week and so we had busy shoppers, buskers, and plenty of people enjoying the nice weather. He did a fantastic job. A saxophonist made him nervous but he did not act inappropriately. At one point, at a cross walk, he had approximately 8 people surrounding him talking loudly and one was acting very animated. He sulked and watched everyone but did not growl.
His one sticky point is kids. When we pass children he always reaches for them. He really wants to investigate them and seems to find them fascinating. Maybe he misses his own boy. I correct this reaching motion because if he does it to a child who fears dogs it may scare the child who may react badly and thus scare Luko. Right now I am requiring that he respect a child's personal space.
This weekend I am going to have a dog savvy friend come out to practice a stranger coming up and actually wanting to touch him. A collapsing circle may still be in the works but he has responded so well to the training that he may not need one and I feel comfortable sending him home without one. The important thing for his owners to remember is not to comfort him when he acts afraid. He does not need comfort when he is acting afraid of a person. He needs to be told that he shouldn't be afraid. If someone pets him and uses a soothing voice to try to comfort him out of being afraid of a person all he hears is "Good boy, you are correct in your fear. That person is dangerous."
If the owners take a stand that this fear aggression is not allowed and so when he growls at someone he gets a leash correction and a firm "No" what he hears is "Don't be afraid. I am not afraid of this person and so they do not pose a threat." Luko is SUCH a follower that he takes this leadership really well. In fact, it seems to calm him. He has no interest in leading or being "alpha" and so when his person takes a stand and actually tells him what to do you can almost see the relief in his face. "Oh, I can't be afraid of that person because I am holding a Down for my owner and that is my job." He will begin to trust his owners to let him know if he should be worried about something. The trick is that the owner needs to be calm and assertive and the praise needs to be genuine. Dogs can always tell if you are faking an emotion.
Tomorrow is another obedience day and he is also going to have his video and glamor shots taken for the website.
His one sticky point is kids. When we pass children he always reaches for them. He really wants to investigate them and seems to find them fascinating. Maybe he misses his own boy. I correct this reaching motion because if he does it to a child who fears dogs it may scare the child who may react badly and thus scare Luko. Right now I am requiring that he respect a child's personal space.
This weekend I am going to have a dog savvy friend come out to practice a stranger coming up and actually wanting to touch him. A collapsing circle may still be in the works but he has responded so well to the training that he may not need one and I feel comfortable sending him home without one. The important thing for his owners to remember is not to comfort him when he acts afraid. He does not need comfort when he is acting afraid of a person. He needs to be told that he shouldn't be afraid. If someone pets him and uses a soothing voice to try to comfort him out of being afraid of a person all he hears is "Good boy, you are correct in your fear. That person is dangerous."
If the owners take a stand that this fear aggression is not allowed and so when he growls at someone he gets a leash correction and a firm "No" what he hears is "Don't be afraid. I am not afraid of this person and so they do not pose a threat." Luko is SUCH a follower that he takes this leadership really well. In fact, it seems to calm him. He has no interest in leading or being "alpha" and so when his person takes a stand and actually tells him what to do you can almost see the relief in his face. "Oh, I can't be afraid of that person because I am holding a Down for my owner and that is my job." He will begin to trust his owners to let him know if he should be worried about something. The trick is that the owner needs to be calm and assertive and the praise needs to be genuine. Dogs can always tell if you are faking an emotion.
Tomorrow is another obedience day and he is also going to have his video and glamor shots taken for the website.
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