>Then bring the puppy to where the older dog is still being held. On some >level the puppy is on the older dog's turf. If the older dog tries to leave, >hold him, gently, while soothing him. If the puppy tries to become hyper, >ditto. Hyperness on the part of the puppy gets mild reproof, but he >continues to be held and petted if that keeps him calm. Fear response from >the older dog gets reassurance.
I personally would be cautious about anything that is really forcing the animals together...depending on the dogs, it *can* work...but other times it does not have any long-term success. We humans tend to want to rush things and see our pets getting along right away....a lot of times it just requires patience and letting them get used to each other on their own terms (that is, the older dog's terms!) Sometimes just letting a puppy mature can be all that is needed. What would concern me with this approach is not allowing the older dog to leave if they want. If you are dealing with a fight-or-flight response, the last thing you really want to do is take away the flight possibility. When you hear people talk about having a fear biter, this is precisely what causes it...removing the ability to flee brings up the fight (fear aggression) instead. Of course, a lot of owners will then correct the dog for the very natural and understandable reaction and then the animal basically goes into what behaviorists called learned helplessness. They basically shut down and just don't respond at all. It's really not what you want either, as it doesn't really remove the fear, it just controls the response. What makes positive reinforcement so powerful a tool in dealing with fear is that the dog chooses for themselves to engage. It's the difference between someone that's fearful of water deciding on their own to jump in, versus being pushed in by someone else...which do you think is more likely to conquer that fear long-term? It's the fact that it is hands-off that makes it so effective. The less you have to manipulate the animal physically, the faster they learn to control their actions on their own. The desire for the click and hearing it triggers such a strong primal reaction that can overcome the need to fight or flee. I'm actually doing some work with this with my own dog who has a lot of shyness issues. In one session, he went from hiding behind the couch when someone was in the room, to walking over and touching her hand for a click, whereas in the past, he was reluctant to even come near her to take a treat off the floor (let alone from her hand!) I started just clicking him for looking at her, then taking a step in her direction, and then you could just see the light click on in his mind, and he walked right over and touched her hand without my having to reward each step of the way. All I had to do was one session prior to that to train him to touch my own hand for a click, so he knew what behavior I was looking for. The science behind why the clicker works even better than just offering a treat by itself is quite interesting, but all one need to know is that it WORKS. If you are interested in positive reinforcement training, the Power of Positive Training is a great book for newcomers with basic theory and training information. You can pick up clickers these days from most pet stores or online supply houses. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~| Adobe® ColdFusion® 8 software 8 is the most important and dramatic release to date Get the Free Trial http://ad.doubleclick.net/clk;207172674;29440083;f Archive: http://www.houseoffusion.com/groups/cf-community/message.cfm/messageid:296891 Subscription: http://www.houseoffusion.com/groups/cf-community/subscribe.cfm Unsubscribe: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/unsubscribe.cfm?user=89.70.5
