# Squirrel tolerance training plan



## scooterscout99 (Dec 3, 2015)

Good luck! If it works for you, I may try it!


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## Zesti_V (Aug 7, 2019)

Hope it works! Does Annie respond to squirrels as strongly on her walks if you have her do a job, like carrying a ball or a toy?


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## Raindrops (Mar 24, 2019)

Does she see squirrels outside her window while she's inside? How does she react then?


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## PeggyTheParti (Sep 5, 2019)

Nice plan! I especially like the "short and sweet" approach. I look forward to hearing about your progress. 

Remind me again, how old is Annie?

I find training walks absolutely exhausting and admittedly avoid them more than I should. Keeping up with all the variables is just such a drain. 

But this has inspired me to be brave and try a short one today, rather than letting my husband do it. Will dedicate it to you and Annie!


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## For Want of Poodle (Feb 25, 2019)

This is how she reacts to outdoor squirrels
... Steady focus, then whimpering, then barking. I now keep all blinds closed and have the bottom half of my windows covered, which means she doesn't rile herself up all day.

She is 13 months, and had done this since about 10 months. 

I can't get her to stop focusing by distraction with a toy, but good point, maybe it would help prevent fixation. Will try that.


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## Fenris-wolf (Apr 17, 2018)

Good luck! I think your plan is awesome! Does Annie like bully sticks? I got one for Sisko to use as a training treat outside to keep him more focused on me and to be calm around other dogs and people and so far it's working. Annie is very cute!


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## For Want of Poodle (Feb 25, 2019)

GAH!!!!!

Took her for the planned 5 min walk this morning, and she did pretty well - immediately ran and hit her pinch collar when we got out the door, but as there were 5 squirrels in sight, including one on the front steps, I can't really blame her. She recovered and focused and we had a nice 5 min walk. Came inside, and she bugged me, bugged me, bugged me, then finally gave up. I thought she was upset because she didn't get her usual half hour walk. 

Nope. 

Just realized that, for the first time in about 5-6 months, she peed inside, on her bed. Apparently 5 min wasn't a long enough bathroom break. GAH!!!!! ?


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## PeggyTheParti (Sep 5, 2019)

Oh no!! Annie's poor bed. ? We had a similar poop incident a few months ago.

Do you have a toilet spot you can use pre-walk? It doesn't always work, but it's super nice when it does and I don't have to carry a bag full of poop on our walks. We return to it again before coming in the house, _just in case._


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## For Want of Poodle (Feb 25, 2019)

She normally pees in the front yard before we start walking. But... with the 5 squirrels, I think we both got distracted, and she never settled into the walk enough to consider it, as we usually walk 20-30 min in the morning.

Luckily Annie's bed is a toddler crib mattress, so has a sheet and a washable waterproof mattress cover!


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## scooterscout99 (Dec 3, 2015)

Gotta love the squirrel parties! They like to eat nuts on my front porch rail, leaving shells and urine behind. What’s a dog to do?


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## MustLoveDogs (Apr 20, 2019)

I have had a similar problem with Cleo and squirrels, and I'll tell you what our trainer suggested. I think it's working. It's the "premack principle.' A behavior the dog is likely to do can be used to reinforce a behavior the dog is less likely to do. In other words, Cleo is more likely to chase squirrels and less likely to sit when there are squirrels in front of her. I'm not explaining it thoroughly, but in action it works like this:
I started this in our fenced yard, on leash, and graduated to trying it on walks. Start with keeping the leash short, she'll strain to go after the squirrels. Cue her to sit. The moment she sits even for a millisecond, give her the okay to chase. In the yard i let go of the leash so she could chase the squirrel--but she wouldn't be fast enough to catch it. Then I started trying it on walks. At the places where we usually see squirrels, i'm extra alert so the hope is i see them around the same time she does--when she goes into "alert" mode. I tell her to sit--i know this is counterintuitive, what are the odds that she will? But again, even if she sits for a millisecond, i then say "Okay"--and make sure you have a good grip on the leash--so she lunges for the squirrel. But she can't get it, the leash stops her, the squirrel gets away. Ideally we should be a little more than 6 feet away when we do this, as long as the leash, so she gets almost close enough but sees that it won't work. I'm supposed to get her to sit for longer, over time. Enough repetitions of that, and she's supposed to eventually be much calmer in the presence of squirrels. I have noticed, she will sit for a little longer each time i try this. And sometimes, she doesn't lunge--often the squirrel is already too far away at that point. (Also, i use a leash and harness, not a pinch collar, b/c the collar won't allow her to go "all out" when she lunges.) Apparently it's the permission to chase the squirrels that is the reinforcer, not the chase itself. I have a bad cold and may not be explaining clearly, but I hope this will help!


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## PeggyTheParti (Sep 5, 2019)

MustLoveDogs said:


> I have had a similar problem with Cleo and squirrels, and I'll tell you what our trainer suggested. I think it's working. It's the "premack principle.' A behavior the dog is likely to do can be used to reinforce a behavior the dog is less likely to do. In other words, Cleo is more likely to chase squirrels and less likely to sit when there are squirrels in front of her. I'm not explaining it thoroughly, but in action it works like this:
> I started this in our fenced yard, on leash, and graduated to trying it on walks. Start with keeping the leash short, she'll strain to go after the squirrels. Cue her to sit. The moment she sits even for a millisecond, give her the okay to chase. In the yard i let go of the leash so she could chase the squirrel--but she wouldn't be fast enough to catch it. Then I started trying it on walks. At the places where we usually see squirrels, i'm extra alert so the hope is i see them around the same time she does--when she goes into "alert" mode. I tell her to sit--i know this is counterintuitive, what are the odds that she will? But again, even if she sits for a millisecond, i then say "Okay"--and make sure you have a good grip on the leash--so she lunges for the squirrel. But she can't get it, the leash stops her, the squirrel gets away. Ideally we should be a little more than 6 feet away when we do this, as long as the leash, so she gets almost close enough but sees that it won't work. I'm supposed to get her to sit for longer, over time. Enough repetitions of that, and she's supposed to eventually be much calmer in the presence of squirrels. I have noticed, she will sit for a little longer each time i try this. And sometimes, she doesn't lunge--often the squirrel is already too far away at that point. (Also, i use a leash and harness, not a pinch collar, b/c the collar won't allow her to go "all out" when she lunges.) Apparently it's the permission to chase the squirrels that is the reinforcer, not the chase itself. I have a bad cold and may not be explaining clearly, but I hope this will help!


This actually makes good sense to me, though I cringe at the thought of encouraging Peggy to lunge against her harness. Just the thought makes my shoulder ache. 

I think I've (kind of?) been using permission as a reward for dropping high value items. She drops it and then I give it back to her and we have a party.


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## For Want of Poodle (Feb 25, 2019)

MustLoveDogs said:


> I have had a similar problem with Cleo and squirrels, and I'll tell you what our trainer suggested. I think it's working. It's the "premack principle.' A behavior the dog is likely to do can be used to reinforce a behavior the dog is less likely to do. In other words, Cleo is more likely to chase squirrels and less likely to sit when there are squirrels in front of her. I'm not explaining it thoroughly, but in action it works like this:
> I started this in our fenced yard, on leash, and graduated to trying it on walks. Start with keeping the leash short, she'll strain to go after the squirrels. Cue her to sit. The moment she sits even for a millisecond, give her the okay to chase. In the yard i let go of the leash so she could chase the squirrel--but she wouldn't be fast enough to catch it. Then I started trying it on walks. At the places where we usually see squirrels, i'm extra alert so the hope is i see them around the same time she does--when she goes into "alert" mode. I tell her to sit--i know this is counterintuitive, what are the odds that she will? But again, even if she sits for a millisecond, i then say "Okay"--and make sure you have a good grip on the leash--so she lunges for the squirrel. But she can't get it, the leash stops her, the squirrel gets away. Ideally we should be a little more than 6 feet away when we do this, as long as the leash, so she gets almost close enough but sees that it won't work. I'm supposed to get her to sit for longer, over time. Enough repetitions of that, and she's supposed to eventually be much calmer in the presence of squirrels. I have noticed, she will sit for a little longer each time i try this. And sometimes, she doesn't lunge--often the squirrel is already too far away at that point. (Also, i use a leash and harness, not a pinch collar, b/c the collar won't allow her to go "all out" when she lunges.) Apparently it's the permission to chase the squirrels that is the reinforcer, not the chase itself. I have a bad cold and may not be explaining clearly, but I hope this will help!


I'm glad it's working for you! I tried something similar a few months ago (long before trying a pinch collar) and it didn't work for us. It seemed to make her more and more wound up and unable to settle after the "chase" (all brains disappeared) and louder and louder when I attempted to get her to focus. I was having a really hard time rewarding her, as usually she's reacting to squirrels a block away or across the street. Probably poor implementation on my part, but premack seems to be really tricky to do correctly. It might have helped if I had a yard to work in, so I could actually drop the leash. My step 6 (practicing concentration, then getting a ball) is my attempt to help train her that patience/focus gets the reward of the chase. Will see how we do.


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## MustLoveDogs (Apr 20, 2019)

PeggyTheParti said:


> This actually makes good sense to me, though I cringe at the thought of encouraging Peggy to lunge against her harness. Just the thought makes my shoulder ache.
> 
> I think I've (kind of?) been using permission as a reward for dropping high value items. She drops it and then I give it back to her and we have a party.


Peggy, i hold the leash tight against my abdomen with my elbows bent, so i'm in a stronger position, and i'm not standing with my arm stretched out when she yanks. It still could happen, but I had a shoulder separation once (not from the dog!), so i try to be very careful!


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## MustLoveDogs (Apr 20, 2019)

For Want of Poodle said:


> I'm glad it's working for you! I tried something similar a few months ago (long before trying a pinch collar) and it didn't work for us. It seemed to make her more and more wound up and unable to settle after the "chase" (all brains disappeared) and louder and louder when I attempted to get her to focus. I was having a really hard time rewarding her, as usually she's reacting to squirrels a block away or across the street. Probably poor implementation on my part, but premack seems to be really tricky to do correctly. It might have helped if I had a yard to work in, so I could actually drop the leash. My step 6 (practicing concentration, then getting a ball) is my attempt to help train her that patience/focus gets the reward of the chase. Will see how we do.


It is tricky, and i'm sure i'm not doing it perfectly right! It really did help me to start in the yard. It sounds like you have developed a logical approach for your poodle--good luck!


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## For Want of Poodle (Feb 25, 2019)

We are now back to working on this after a 2 week break because she was on exercise restriction. She's as bad as ever now that we've started walking again, very excited, and SO MUCH ENERGY. 

During that two week break, I took away her favourite ball to keep her from playing with it. I took it out today and brought it with us. Guess what?! It was more exciting than the squirrels! 

So unfortunately for her, the ball is going to remain on lock down for the near future, and only come out on daytime walks while we continue to work on this.


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## Fenris-wolf (Apr 17, 2018)

For Want of Poodle said:


> We are now back to working on this after a 2 week break because she was on exercise restriction. She's as bad as ever now that we've started walking again, very excited, and SO MUCH ENERGY.
> 
> During that two week break, I took away her favourite ball to keep her from playing with it. I took it out today and brought it with us. Guess what?! It was more exciting than the squirrels!
> 
> So unfortunately for her, the ball is going to remain on lock down for the near future, and only come out on daytime walks while we continue to work on this.


Oh, no??! 

I'm glad her ball is more exciting than the squirrels and it's working??!


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## Zesti_V (Aug 7, 2019)

For Want of Poodle said:


> During that two week break, I took away her favourite ball to keep her from playing with it. I took it out today and brought it with us. Guess what?! It was more exciting than the squirrels!
> 
> So unfortunately for her, the ball is going to remain on lock down for the near future, and only come out on daytime walks while we continue to work on this.


YAY! Glad this helped. Hopefully you can find a way to use it to teach her to behave the way you want on walks and then release it from lock down


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## For Want of Poodle (Feb 25, 2019)

Todays walk was rainy and squirrel free! We could focus on leash manners instead of squirrel distraction, and I didn't use the pinch. The ball and treats were distraction enough from sniffing/looking for squirrels/cats/skunks. We even managed to see someone pass in front of us with a small dog with full focus on me. Good girl Annie! If only every day was rainy


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## For Want of Poodle (Feb 25, 2019)

We are, tentatively, continuing to make progress with this. She doesn't go nuts 50% of the time on potty breaks now, which is huge progress, and she's much quicker to recover from squirrel sightings. Still far from perfect, but I haven't had an "OMG, dog, you are waking the whole neighbourhood, I am so embarrassed" moment for a week or so, which is huge progress. I'm also now not using the pinch on potty breaks either. 

I took her to Petsmart to go look at aquarium plants, which, I discovered, were right next to the birds. She alerted/yelled at them several times, but I actually managed to get her to sit and wait while I talked to the sales person after a few minutes and lots of treats, and I managed to get aquarium plants. There was a humane society adoption event going on right next to the cash, and I was very impressed, as she didn't seem to notice or react to the cats in cages less than 5 feet from her head.

I'm debating ordering a better pinch collar on Amazon (the smallest link Herm Sprenger). The one I have has links that are too big for her, but it was all they had in store. It's too small if I take another link out (would give constant pressure and be impossible to put on), but also slides down and gets tangled on her flat collar, so she does occasionally pull with the pinch collar on and it doesn't correct. I think the smaller links would distribute the pressure better, but I'm also cheap and don't really want to spend the money on a tool I don't intend to use long term, and am working away from. Decisions, decisions.


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## Zesti_V (Aug 7, 2019)

For Want of Poodle said:


> Todays walk was rainy and squirrel free! If only every day was rainy


This is funny- here in Florida, at least in our neighborhood, the squirrels come out and party when it's raining. I think they like the break from the usual scorching heat. Jessie's favorite walks are in the rain when she can get all muddy chasing squirrels in the otherwise empty dog park. Sounds like you and Annie are making great progress!


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## For Want of Poodle (Feb 25, 2019)

Thought I should update this, since prong collars were mentioned elsewhere, which reminded me of this thread. 

Annie and I have moved, and our current neighborhood has WAY FEWER squirrels. Consequently, she gets triggered far less. The previous neighborhood the neighbours across the road fed them deliberately in the front yard, there were often 6 + immediately visible upon opening he door, so she charged out, already expecting them. Here? We dont always see them on walks. 

Consequently we have made a lot more progress. I now do short training walks and long rambling yard walks on a loose lead flat collar. The rule is the moment she pulls (even if it's a squirrel) we go inside. She has a beautiful loose leash walk now, for short distances during the daytime, far longer in the evening. Her reaction to squirrels is now far less intense, and far easier to distract her from. We often do a series of behaviours (sit down etc) even without treats to refocus her brain and continue walking after a squirrel sighting.

Keys 
1) Lots of exercise - doesnt NEED the stimulation or squirrels
2) Fewer squirrels = isnt actively looking any more, less trigger stacking.

Anyway- I still have the pinch collar, and sometimes will bring it with me in my pocket as a just in case on longer daytime walks walks, but I seldom need to use it anymore  My mom who has a bad leg and bad balance does use it if she walks Annie, as she cant afford to fall again. 

I do often use her harness for longer walks in the daytime, just because I hate her thrashing against a collar if something does go wrong.

Huge progress.


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## Spottytoes (Jul 28, 2020)

We have so many squirrels and rabbits in our neighborhood so this thread definitely caught my eye. 😉
Happy to hear you have made such good progress! Great work!


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## Fenris-wolf (Apr 17, 2018)

Congratulations on the progress😎


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