Shamas has regressed

[Shamas mom]

Since that dog charged us as we passed his property, Shamas has regressed.

It's as though a switch flipped, and he went "if other dogs can do it, so can I"

Now he's yelling out the windows, lunging at other dogs, and is again dog-reactive up to 75feet. We even had a no-walk day today

Hubby said he went off on a dog passing the house, as they stepped out to walk him, and it took both him AND my son to hold him back! they drove him right out of the area to walk.

 

[Granca]

What a shame. Back to square one with plenty of distraction and treats?

 

[Emily_Babbelhund]

Sorry to hear this.

I agree with @Granca that's it's back to square one for a while. However, take heart that he should progress much more quickly than the first time around. Maybe try to think of it as a 'reset' or 'reboot' vs. having to learn everything over again.

On a smaller scale, Carbon has his 'let's just hang it up' days as well. Had one yesterday. He shouted at a dog in the morning and then just continued the rest of the day. Where we've gotten to the point of him being shouty maybe twice a week, yesterday he reacted to six dogs! A large part was because I was distracted and not managing him the way I usually do, but part of it was that once they go off, the chance for each further incident increases exponentially. Hopefully I'm using the term correctly, but I believe this is what @snowbunny and other behaviourist trainers call 'stacking'.

So it's back to basics for a few days...and I hope that helps with Shamas as well.

 

[Jacqui-S]

That is such a shame, you have been working so hard.
Keep your spirits up though, you have been brilliant for Shamas.
x

 

[HAH]

Exactly as others have said @Shamas mom , this must feel really disappointing for you but hopefully it's only a hiccup; Shamas will probably get back on track quickly if you can step right back to the simple stuff and work back up from there.

It's as though a switch flipped, and he went "if other dogs can do it, so can I"

I'd think of it more as he's had a knock or a scare, which has set him back a bit - like the first car trip after you've had an accident. This might help avoid thinking he's doing it on purpose, and instead he needs gentle handling and to take easy baby steps (which he'll probably race through, so it might not take long).

No-walk days might not be such a bad thing, if you can play some simple sniffing and 'find it' games round the house (hide a toy for him to find, put a couple of tasty things in different places), maybe learn some new tricks or practice basic skills like sit, lie down etc. with voice command, at a distance, not using your voice (tricky!), not using your voice or hands (even trickier!) - all the sort of thing to strengthen focus on each other and build his confidence a bit. There are some good ideas in the Training Toolbox section: Training Toolbox - things like the Bucket Game and the Relaxation Protocol, and also on the one-handed games thread: One handed activities/training.

Let us know how you get on x

 

[Atemas]

Nothing to add but feel Shamas will quickly recover from this setback. The more training you do, the more he will respond to it. Good luck and keep going

 

[MellowYellow]

Don’t allow this small hiccup to upset you. You’re doing so well with Shamas, I’m sure you’ll get over this.

 

[Shamas mom]

Sorry to hear this.

I agree with @Granca that's it's back to square one for a while. However, take heart that he should progress much more quickly than the first time around. Maybe try to think of it as a 'reset' or 'reboot' vs. having to learn everything over again.

On a smaller scale, Carbon has his 'let's just hang it up' days as well. Had one yesterday. He shouted at a dog in the morning and then just continued the rest of the day. Where we've gotten to the point of him being shouty maybe twice a week, yesterday he reacted to six dogs! A large part was because I was distracted and not managing him the way I usually do, but part of it was that once they go off, the chance for each further incident increases exponentially. Hopefully I'm using the term correctly, but I believe this is what @snowbunny and other behaviourist trainers call 'stacking'.

So it's back to basics for a few days...and I hope that helps with Shamas as well.

YEs! It's like you're describing Shamas here.

I was thinking early (3am) this morning that he needs a few days of only train track and store walks, to let out that stress hormone and reset, after the dog attack and fireworks this week. Also going to check his ears and that dewclaw, in case there's any pain source. The vet said his ears were dirty and if they still were in a few days to bring him back. They looked good yesterday morning, but then it was humid

 

[Shamas mom]

That's it
He's flicking his right ear, and moving his head away. doesn't want me to clean it. Will have to call him in

 

[snowbunny]

After Shadow's encounter with the four Labradors yesterday morning, we had a chilled lunchtime/afternoon walk, playing in the river, not another soul in sight. We didn't go far, sat and shared a sandwich for a while, soaking up the sun. We then got in the car and drove back to Spain; Shadow travels well so it's not a bother, although it was a long journey because of traffic.
When we got home, Willow bumped him in her excitement to greet me, he snapped and grabbed her lip, causing her to scream. Today, her lip is really swollen and sore, poor girl.

But, do I think it's a problem? Nope, he was just trigger stacked. He'd had an upsetting experience and hadn't come back down from it yet, despite our chilled time afterwards. The contact from Willow was enough to cause a massive over-reaction (in her and our minds), but it was perfectly reasonable to him, considering the heightened state of sensitivity he was in.

He'll get a few quiet days now, with nothing of any note happening, and it will all be fine. There won't be any lingering issues between him and Willow, it's not regression or escalation, it was just a culmination of the recent experiences that he couldn't cope with.

It's likely the same with Shamas, just a blip, and he will get back to his normal after a couple of days.

 

[Emily_Babbelhund]

But, do I think it's a problem? Nope, he was just trigger stacked. He'd had an upsetting experience and hadn't come back down from it yet, despite our chilled time afterwards. The contact from Willow was enough to cause a massive over-reaction (in her and our minds), but it was perfectly reasonable to him, considering the heightened state of sensitivity he was in.

Poor Shadow, I really get this behaviour as I do the human version. It's very helpful to me to read your reaction to it and to remember when Carbon has a 'stacked day' (or I do) to just keep it in perspective, manage it and move on.