Ella and I took a 3 hour shy dog class on Saturday. It was held at Paw-zn-Around Doggy Day Care in Saco (if you happen to be driving southbound on I-95, it is the big white barn with the huge pawprints on the side) and was taught by Carolyn Ross.
For anyone who knows Ella, she isn't particularly shy for a sheltie. She is aloof from strangers, but not truly shy. Why would I bring her to this class? Well, because she is the perfect dog to take to classes, since she is quiet and calm and I can learn what I need to learn without worrying about how she will react. I wanted to take this class to see if it might be helpful with some of the shy foster dogs I have - especially Grace.
The facility was huge, with plenty of room for everything. The floors were padded with glued down mats, so the dogs had awesome traction. The class was small - only 5 dogs were in attendance. Each of the dogs was there for a different reason - some shut down with fear, some barked and acted scary, others were in the middle. The only common thing amongst us was that everyone really loved their dog and wanted to help him/her become less afraid.
A portion of the class was devoted to talking about how a dog can become more comfortable around the things that make him afraid. Carolyn went over desensitization and counterconditioning (classical conditioning) and compared it to operant conditioning - which is what you use when you teach sit and other obedience. Classical conditioning is one of the best ways to help a shy dog become much more at ease in his/her world. We also discussed each dog's "threshold," which is usually defined by distance from an object.
The remainder of the class was devoted to Tellington TTouch training. The first thing we did was play on the "Playground of Higher Learning." This was a section of the room that has a window screen lying on the floor, some jumps to walk around, a balance beam to walk, a ladder lying down, a boogie board to step on, some hula hoops to walk on and a ramp to walk up. We spent quite a while walking around and seeing what the dogs would do and rewarding them for doing anything.
Ella has definitely gotten braver! She walked over the screen with no problems. She stepped on the wiggly boogie board and walked over it again and again. She even climbed up the ramp (with a line of treats to entice her). I was very pleased with how well she did.
We then went over the TTouch anxiety wrap and how to put it on the dog. There are two versions - a half wrap and a full body wrap. Basically, it is an Ace bandage wrapped around certain parts of the dog. Shelties look really funny with the wrap on! But, Ella is game for anything.
We then learned a few of the basic touches. TTouch isn't massage. You don't press enough to affect the muscle. Instead, it is a light touch that moves the skin. Each touch type has an animal name - raccoon paw, spotted leopard, etc.
There were two that really made an impression on me. The first was when we manipulated the tail - basically, we stroked down the dog's spine and lifted the tail to a neutral position. Not upright (alert) nor tucked (scared). Once I had done this a few times, Ella gave a big body shake and started carrying her tail in that position, rather than really low (she didn't have a tucked tail, but she wasn't really relaxed either). She was also much more "peppy" and less subdued. In fact, when someone entered the facility after than she barked once at them, which is something she doesn't do when she is in a strange place.
The second was when we were using (what I recall as named) the "raccoon paw" on her face and around her ears along with doing long strokes on the ears. She was so relaxed that she was almost asleep. Another person was doing the same touch on the hip area of a really shy dog and she was really relaxed, too.
Carolyn wrapped everything up with a 15 minutes review and question period. She did a great job making sure each person had some one-on-one time, telling her own stories about problem dogs, and answering each person's questions. She took time to work with us on how much pressure we should be using with the TTouch and had just the right amount of energy for the class. I would definitely recommend her as a training instructor.
I was pleasantly surprised with TTouch and am motivated to learn more about it. At first, it might seem strange, since traditional dog training doesn't really deal with touchy-feelly stuff. But, I can easily see how this technique would help a dog and also improve a dog-human relationship at the same time.
All in all, it was worth the minor class fee ($60) and the 4-hour round trip drive! In fact, Ella and I were pooped after the class because we learned and did so much!
No comments:
Post a Comment