I am not saying your way does not work. This is just what I have done in the past, and it has worked for me. This method does assume that both animals trust the people holding them and *can* be reassured. I would agree that if the dog is panicking you do not want to restrain it.
On Fri, May 8, 2009 at 12:22 PM, Mary Jo Sminkey <[email protected]>wrote: > > >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:296893 Subscription: http://www.houseoffusion.com/groups/cf-community/subscribe.cfm Unsubscribe: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/unsubscribe.cfm?user=89.70.5
