# Question on reactive puppy



## LauraRose (Dec 26, 2012)

Seems you're on the right track with desensitization & redirection. 
Join http://dtccc.org. It's where we train. 


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

plr, it sounds like you are moving in the right direction. Don't overdo the treats though. You don't want the treat to be a bribe to get good behavior, but rather a reward for offering the desired behavior. As things get better the treat should be given as a random reward (not every time or even every X time at a regular interval, but at irregular intervals).

I like LauraRose suggestion to join a training group too. When you work in a class with other dogs around you have built in distractions and you have people who can watch what you are doing and help you through rough moments.

I would add that you are about to hit adolescence, don't get frustrated if pup seems to act like he's forgotten everything at times.


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## plr (Oct 20, 2012)

I order Jean Donaldson's book "Train Your Dog Like a Pro" last week and I've learned stuff from her book that I didn't get from two classes with Remy. I haven't ever been able to get him to stay, but with info from her book and DVD, we are on our way to mastering a stay. I just haven't done any of this before. I'm sure I've overdone the treats because he is looking for the treat. 

I'm going to look into LauraRose's suggestion. I've been looking at two other training clubs, all of them are about 45-60 minute drives from home. dtccc has a small dog training class -- that sounds promising.


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

plr, Jean Donaldson is great. You might also look on Dog Star Daily.

I am sure you will do fine. Keep us updated and ask whenever you need help.


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## LauraRose (Dec 26, 2012)

plr said:


> I'm going to look into LauraRose's suggestion. I've been looking at two other training clubs, all of them are about 45-60 minute drives from home. dtccc has a small dog training class -- that sounds promising.


I really love this club. I'm applying for membership to take full advantage of the class offerings. Tons of dog sports to try: flyball, agility, & nose work are at the top of my list. 
Hope to see you there. 

Jean Donaldson is terrific. Also check out Dog Star Daily, Ian Dunbar's site. I'll be attending a seminar with him in June. 

Good luck!






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## LauraRose (Dec 26, 2012)

lily cd re said:


> plr, Jean Donaldson is great. You might also look on Dog Star Daily.
> 
> I am sure you will do fine. Keep us updated and ask whenever you need help.


Hahaha. I was typing the same thing as you posted this. Great minds, eh? 


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## plr (Oct 20, 2012)

Thanks for the suggestions and support . . . I've keep you all updated on progress. 

I think I'll give the dtccc club a try. I'll email them and get an evaluation and see where I should start. This is probably the easiest club to get to (at least I know the area). It's close to where I used to work before I retired.


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## cookieface (Jul 5, 2011)

LauraRose said:


> Seems you're on the right track with desensitization & redirection.
> Join Dog Training Center of Chester County. It's where we train.
> 
> 
> Sent from Petguide.com Free App


Just popping in to add a plug for DTCCC. Katie and I have been taking classes there for the past year and it's a great facility with excellent instructors. I researched trainers and training clubs in the area, and DTCCC seemed to have the best variety of classes. I've also learned a ton just by volunteering at different events.

Katie was a bit reactive when we first got her, but I slowly desensitized and counterconditioned her and she's so much better now. Not perfect, but I don't dread taking her places now.

Good luck! You seem to be on the right track to finding a resolution.


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## plr (Oct 20, 2012)

Remy and I went to the William Penn Poodle Club show today. He got to reconnect with his breeder and watch all the poodles in the show. I was a little concerned but wanted to see how he would react. 

There was a lot of whining involved initially, but he really did great. He was trying to meet all the other poodles that came to watch the show. 

I met Chagall and Chagall's Mom at the show. Chagall is even prettier in person than in pictures. We sat by the ring and talked while Remy sat on my lap and either slept or watched the poodles in the ring. Right at the end when things were breaking up, he started growling at people that walked by and didn't stop to pet him or say hi. 

On the whole, it was a great experience.


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

Oh that Chagall sure gets around. Lily and I spent time with him, his mom and her DH a few weeks ago when we went to a tracking seminar. Aren't poodles and their people the best?


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## Chagall's mom (Jan 9, 2010)

plr said:


> Remy and I went to the William Penn Poodle Club show today. He got to reconnect with his breeder and watch all the poodles in the show. I was a little concerned but wanted to see how he would react.
> 
> There was a lot of whining involved initially, but he really did great. He was trying to meet all the other poodles that came to watch the show.
> 
> ...


I'm so glad our paths crossed!! Remy has a truly _beautiful _face, and he's a pistol! :dog: I think he did a commendable job of behaving himself in that very stimulating venue, especially for a 7 month old! He sat ringside watching the poodles like a real gentleman. As far as his reaction to passersby, does he behave the same when he's off leash? Since he seems to be frustrated by not being able to make contact with people who walk by him, I wonder if some impulse control training might help? I just love the "It's Yer Choice" game to teach it. Just a thought, I really don't know what else to offer here. But I do know you are WONDERFUL with him! And he is super CUTE to boot! :cute:
"It's Yer Choice" - YouTube



lily cd re said:


> Oh that Chagall sure gets around. Lily and I spent time with him, his mom and her DH a few weeks ago when we went to a tracking seminar. Aren't poodles and their people the best?


I sometimes think I'm merely Chagall's chauffeur!:driver: But you are so right, there's_ nothing_ like poodles and their people, and I enjoy meeting as many as I can! Hope to see you and Lily again before too long.


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## plr (Oct 20, 2012)

Thanks for the video link. I'd seen something similar but it was only the first portion of the exercise on impulse control. Remy quickly picked up on the first exercise in the video - holding the treats in one hand, feeding treat from other hand. This video link takes it further. We'll start working on some of the other exercises.


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## plr (Oct 20, 2012)

Quick update: 
1. I went on a walk with Lula and LauraRose, we were on a trail on the weekend that bicyclist are on. Remy barked and lunged about half the time. He is worse when he can see them coming, when they come from behind he handled it better. So there is hope. 

2. I'm taking him out on a long leash in the yard and playing fetch. I'm finding it to be a good way to let him work off some of his endless energy. 

3. I took LauraRose's and Cookieface's recommendation and enrolled in a class at DTCCC. I'm taking Petite Pooch class, which is a basic obedience class for dogs under 25 lbs. We went to our first class today. I like the instructor. She is giving me feedback on what I'm doing wrong, which I wasn't getting as much from other classes. And she has already given us great ideas to help with training a small dog. For example, training to walk on a loose lead has been tough because I can't stay bent over to keep a treat at dog eye level for that long. She recommended using a wooden spoon with peanut butter or liverwurst spread on it. I tried it this afternoon and wow, it worked like a charm. Of course, the neighbors got a show with me walking down the sidewalk with a spoon at Remy's nose. :hahaha:


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## cookieface (Jul 5, 2011)

plr said:


> Quick update:
> 1. I went on a walk with Lula and LauraRose, we were on a trail on the weekend that bicyclist are on. Remy barked and lunged about half the time. He is worse when he can see them coming, when they come from behind he handled it better. So there is hope.
> 
> 2. I'm taking him out on a long leash in the yard and playing fetch. I'm finding it to be a good way to let him work off some of his endless energy.
> ...


Sounds as though you're making progress. It's slow (Katie can be reactive), but you'll get there.  Who is the DTCCC instructor? Barb D.? If so, we've had her for a few classes and she's great - and seems completely unflappable.


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## plr (Oct 20, 2012)

That's what I'm learning - I've been worried that I'm doing everything wrong. But I've decided to give myself a break and know that even if I'm not doing everything perfectly Remy is still learning and I'm learning with him. 

Barb D. is the instructor. Nice thing is that the class is at 10 am, so we stop on the way home for a walk on the Perkiomen Trail.


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

I am happy to hear that you feel you are making progress. It is nice that you and LauraRose and Lula have been able to connect too.


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## plr (Oct 20, 2012)

*June Update*

I just wanted to give you all an update on Remy's progress. Sorry this is kind of long. 

1. We graduated from Petite Pooches (Obedience 1) and will be starting Beyond Basics (Obedience 2) in about 10 days. He did good in class other than he was always so excited to be there. I learned a lot in the class -- particularly how to distract him and try to keep him focused on me. Of course, we still have a lot to learn. 

2. About 3 weeks ago we met with a trainer in a park to work on Remy's reactiveness to everything that moves. She gave me lots of ideas on how to help him. 

3. We go to the same park on a regular basis. There is a huge grassy area where we can hang off of the path and watch kids on bikes, people running, people walking and people with dogs. We have also started playing fetch. When he is fetching a ball he doesn't pay attention to anything else around him. I have him on a 30 ft line and he is pretty good on recall. We run into an 8 year old black mpoo that comes to the park to play frisbee on occasion. The mpoo tolerates Remy, but he is more interested in playing frisbee. This past week they played together -- the mpoo would take off after the frisbee with Remy following behind. It was a lot of fun for Remy. 

4. The previous two weeks, I was sort of down in the dumps and not doing much with Remy - just short walks close to home and fetching games in the side yard and lots of fetching games in the house. We went on some walks but Remy was really reactive to everything and I was frustrated - not good for him or me. PammiPoodles posts on walking with her dogs has been inspiring me to keep going, along with encouragement from others to give myself a break. So this past week has been a lot better and we have gotten out more again. 

5. Yesterday was a fun day -- we went to the pet store to pick up some bully sticks and kibble and ran into LauraRose and Lula so we played a little longer in the store. Remy really likes the people that work there and they always fuss over him -- and with Lula there - it was twice as much fun. We came home and the next door neighbor was outside and Remy really likes her. While we were talking a neighbor stopped as she was driving down the street and we met her black spoo. Then the yorkiepoo neighbor came out, Remy is a little too much for him but they did sniff each other, and the yorkiepoo told him to back off. Afterwards we played fetch in the yard. Overall a good day with lots of exposure to lots of different people and dogs. 

6. Today we went on a 6 mile hike with LauraRose and Lula. This was on a wooded trail with runners, bikers, dogs etc. The typical trail that I've been avoiding because Remy really reacts to everyone and everything that moves. Today I started picking him up when we saw anyone approaching in either direction and after awhile he started to stop and look at me when he saw someone coming. I'd pick him up - he wouldn't bark when they went by and I'd put him down and we'd continue. If someone wanted to meet him, I'd put him down and he'd do his - "aren't I the cutest thing you've ever seen dance". We met a couple of dogs that Laura and Lula knew - I picked him up initially but then put him down and after a lunging bark everything went great, and it went even better when we ran across them again on our way back. 

So basically I think I can now walk with him on trails with lots of people and have a solution to keep him from reacting. And I have a park I can go to work on reactiveness at a distance. I'm in a better frame of mind because of the successes we've had this week and because I've decided to chill and enjoy my pup.


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## Chagall's mom (Jan 9, 2010)

plr said:


> I've decided to chill and enjoy my pup.


Ahh grasshopper, you have found the answer!  This mindset, coupled with your diligent training, will help Remy be chill too. Just want to mention the "picking him up" solution might be something to discuss with the trainer. My concern is this could possibly lead Remy to start guarding you from other approaching dogs and people. It might also prompt a rambunctious dog to leap up on you and possibly frighten Remy more, or harm you both. Just my thoughts, which may be way off. I have been wrong before, and plan to be so again. :biggrin:

Congratulations to your graduate! It's terrific you have access to such a good training facility. And other friendly dogs (and people,:hello: LauraRose) who can socialize and play with Remy. Things will get better and better, and that's something I plan to be right about!  Really good to hear you feeling more encouraged. Now go enjoy your little cutiepie.


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## plr (Oct 20, 2012)

I'm also concerned about the ramifications of picking him up, but today I didn't have a choice, I couldn't get him off of the path far enough to keep him calm. I started picking him up, holding him on the side opposite of the traffic. He, then on his own, started slowing down and coming back to me, and looking up at me when he saw approaching people - similar to the way he would look at me for a treat when we are standing far enough away and he starts to feel challenged. 

I plan on talking to the trainer about it. I think it is a decent compromise so he can go on some of these group walks with Lula and others.


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## Joelly (May 8, 2012)

I'm so happy for you about Remy's progress. There is nothing more rewarding then seeing your dog progress in training.


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## Chagall's mom (Jan 9, 2010)

plr said:


> I'm also concerned about the ramifications of picking him up...I plan on talking to the trainer about it. I think it is a decent compromise so he can go on some of these group walks with Lula and others.


Peggy, I understand! I figured you'd confer with the trainer. I'm just glad for every step of progress you're making, knowing there will be ups and downs (and lift ups?!) along the way. I'll be watching for more updates! :clover:


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## LauraRose (Dec 26, 2012)

Just wanted to say it's been great getting to know you & Rem in "real life"! I look forward to seeing you both again when we're back home. 

I can report that my experience of Remy's progress has been wonderful to observe. He is calmer each time we meet. & I see him focusing on you more & more. He is definitely making progress!
Peggy, I sense you feeling calmer too, which I'm sure is related. 

I'm happy to hear (read?) that you've come to the place where you realize you can just enjoy him. These silly puppy antics won't last forever, not with you being proactive & consistent with his (& your!) training. Impulse control is tough stuff! Heck, I struggle with mine too - lol. You see Lula have her moments at times, but I just try to stay calm & refocus her. 

We all know it can be frustrating to see our furkids continue to make "that mistake", especially when you know you've worked on the behavior 10K times. 
I sometimes worry that I don't train frequently enough, or thoroughly enough, with Lula. When I see her slip with some behavior, I feel like I've somehow failed her. But the fact is, we are all here, on Poodle Forum, because we care. We swap information, motivation, laughs & cries all because we love our PoodleBabies & want the best for the them. 

Peggy, I thank you (& all of us!) for asking questions to a group who were total strangers when you first registered. We have come together in Poodleness!


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## plr (Oct 20, 2012)

Thanks Laura. It has really helped him to be able to go on walks with Lula. It seems to help him, it is more confident with her around. 

It's been nice to realize I just need to enjoy this happy-go-lucky little guy. We start our next class next Monday, we have been sort of taking a break lately -- today was a very rainy day here. We hung around the house, played a lot of fetch in the house.

Yesterday we went on a short walk - practicing loose leash walking. He is routinely walking on a loose leash on the neighborhood streets by the house. This time we headed up to the WAWA by my house. As soon as we hit Rt 113, the loose leash walking went out the window. We walked up to the corner - it is a busy intersection. There is a park bench there and we have sat on the park bench many times and watched the cars and trucks go by with him getting treats for not reacting. It wasn't that busy so we walked back towards home - then a motorcycle went by -- and he thinks they are noisy bicycles and he needs to kill them. Then there were people in the parking lot at the WAWA and they had to be barked at too, so I sat on a short wall by the WAWA to wait for the people he barked at to come back out to their car. I got him to sit and tried to keep him focused with treats on not reacting to all the people walking to and from their cars. It worked ok. I think I've found somewhere to go and work with him on reacting to people. When we left the WAWA we walked home on loose leash all the way. YAY Remy!!

I don't know if I've caused him to react to people that are walking by. He thinks that anyone one on a sidewalk coming towards him should come and meet him and fuss all over him. And he pulls on the leash to get closer, if I try to hold him back or move off the sidewalk on the grass -- then he barks like crazy. If we go up to them and they talk to him, everything is great. Any pointers on how to tackle this one would be appreciated.


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## LauraRose (Dec 26, 2012)

plr said:


> I don't know if I've caused him to react to people that are walking by. He thinks that anyone one on a sidewalk coming towards him should come and meet him and fuss all over him. And he pulls on the leash to get closer, if I try to hold him back or move off the sidewalk on the grass -- then he barks like crazy. If we go up to them and they talk to him, everything is great. Any pointers on how to tackle this one would be appreciated.


You're welcome, of course. I'm happy to have another pooch & fellow dog lover along on our adventures! 

Sounds like Remy is making great progress with the LLW. 

As for the excited greetings, you could try asking him for seated, calm behavior with a life reward (rather than treat) of being allowed to greet the human/what have you. At first you could reward the extended sit/wait till the greeter approached you & Remy. Then work up to no reward till the actual greeting as a life reward, which is what he wants. 

You could practice this with Lula & I at first, then ask random passersby. People are usually happy to help - I tend to ask if they'd be willing to help Lula learn manners. 

HTH. 



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## plr (Oct 20, 2012)

*4th of July Celebration*

Well, the 4th of July celebrations are over. Remy came through with flying colors. 

There is a parade in my town, and the route starts a block from my house. It involves fire engines with sirens going, motorcycles, bands and a lot of people. We have people parking all along our street, so there are lot of parents, kids and an occasional dog on our usually very quiet street. I took Remy out this morning as the parade was starting and walked up about 1/2 block from the start and I sat on hill with him, with some treats to watch all the people. We had some frantic barking at people when he tried to get to the end of his leash. When I kept him at my side, it was a lot better, with an occasional low whiny bark. 

There is a bichon mix, Jenny, that lives in the house (we were sitting on their lawn). They came out to see the parade, Remy and Jenny got in some sniff time as we watched the parade. Remy didn't care about people as long has Jenny was around. We left when I ran out of treats, and Remy walked home with me on a loose leash with all that commotion behind him. I was shocked. 

When the parade was over and everyone was coming back to their cars, Remy started barking at everyone. I decided to put his leash on and go out and sit on the front porch steps to watch the people walking by. He sat there next to me on the porch, didn't try to go down the porch steps and controlled himself with the help of an occasional piece of chicken. I was so pleased, he would go from one side of me to the other side but didn't try get off the porch. 

Then we survived fireworks!!! :cheers2: There were some fireworks going off yesterday that had Remy barking like crazy. I was worried about the local fireworks tonight. We can hear them from the house and there is usually a big crescendo at the end. The fireworks went off for over an hour and Remy barked once or twice. He came to me when called and calmed down and sat on my lap. He slept in my lap most of the time. He got down two or three times to get a drink or a bite to eat. 

We are hearing an occasional firework go off now and he is totally ignoring them. He just got off of my lap, and went to check out the black poodle puppy in the full length mirror and got a drink of water. Now he is wrestling with his stuffed sheep. We are getting occasional barking for a loud bang, but he stops when I call him.

I've been dreading today and it was essentially a non-event!!! :whoo:


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## patk (Jun 13, 2013)

thanks in this case means thumbs up! good show! hup! hup!


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## Chagall's mom (Jan 9, 2010)

plr said:


> Well, the 4th of July celebrations are over. Remy came through with flying colors.... I've been dreading today and it was essentially a non-event!!! :whoo:



Now that's _really_ cause for celebration! What tremendous progress, I salute you both! :usa2: It's so good to hear updates like this one, Peggy. Keep 'em coming!


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## plr (Oct 20, 2012)

Just found out today that the class I signed up for has been cancelled because there aren't enough people signed up to run it. :bawling: Now I have to wait until they run it again. Guess that means I need to get off my butt and work on my own with him. We have been taking a break since the last class ended.


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## LauraRose (Dec 26, 2012)

Well that's a bummer!

Have you posted pix of Remy with his "new look"? 
I heard it through the dogvine (PVPE) that he's looking very spiffy. 


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

I've just been catching up with PF after a busy work period. I am very happy to see that you have made so much progress. Your insight about how your energy and letting yourself enjoy your pup is so great. They often read us better than we read ourselves. Keep up the great progress.


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