Trooper Tracker

Trooper Tracker: Tales from a Reactive dog
Background on Trooper: Trooper is a 3-year-old Golden Retriever. We rescued Trooper (actual name Clone Trooper, named by my 5-year-old son) from the Golden Retriever Freedom Rescue a couple years ago. He had never really had a proper home and was pretty clueless about everything from stairs to doors. But, he adapted quickly and seemed like your typical Golden - except he refuses to fetch.

The first clue that Trooper may not love all dogs was at charity event at PetsMart, when, while I was filling in his information to get him a dog tag, I heard a yipe and turned around to see a tiny little white dog in his mouth. Thankfully, the dog was unharmed, but it had me a little concerned. He had been around dogs all afternoon without incident, so I wrote this off as a fluke. The next clue came on a walk with the family, and a dog ran out of its house and came to see us, and Trooper attacked. I again was concerned, but thought he was just protecting his family. Though in some denial, I knew enough to not take him for walks for a while until I got this figured out. Enter Pat Blocker - our resident trainer extraordinaire.

Through this page, I will be updating Trooper's progress (I hope) and sharing the tips I've learned along the way. I will update the page after every training session (every week or so). We will do a follow-up article in the May/June issue of Rocky Mountain Dog. I hope what I learn through this process helps some of you out there that may have a "reactive dog."

Week One: The process started with Pat coming to my house to do an assessment. We basically just discussed Trooper's history and took him for a short walk so she could see what I was talking about. We didn't even make it off my front porch before a dog walked by and Pat got a first-hand look at what T does. He practically ripped my arm off trying to run to the other dog. She left me with one homework assignment. Teach Trooper the "watch me" command. Basically, this consists of teaching T to look at me on command and then rewarding him with a treat every time he did. Trooper was a quick study and nailed it after the first day or so. But...that was in the house. Different story when we went outside...

Week Two: This week, Pat brought her dog, Bob. We worked on rewarding Trooper every time he saw Bob, but didn't react. So, Pat would go down to the end of the block with Bob and I would wait for T to notice, and then shove his mouth full of treats to associate other dogs with getting treats. Timing was the hard part with this one. You have to get them as soon as they see the dog, but before they start to react. Troop decided to be extra difficult because he wasn't as interested in the treats as he was in the other dog. And these were really good treats - Pat calls them "Doggie Ben & Jerry's." Homework this week was to keep practicing this with random dogs that would walk past our house. This proved difficult trying to time getting him a treat before he reacted. He was much faster at noticing dogs than I was, and still wasn't too interested in the treats. I even switched to chicken, but nothing is more interesting than other dogs. Feeling a little frustrated...

Week Three: When Pat came this time, I explained the difficulty I was having getting him to take a treat. We noticed that he would take the treat if I threw it on the ground, so we worked on a new command, "find it." I would throw a treat on the ground and as soon as he ate it, I say, "find it." This way he learns to associate that there is a treat when I say that, because sometimes he wouldn't even notice that I threw one on the ground. So, the goal is that I will be able to say, "find it" and he will look for the treat and take his attention away from another dog. Trooper wasn't ready to practice with real dogs, so we went to the alley behind my house, where many "invisible dogs" live behind fences. Trooper is not as reactive to a dog behind a fence, so it's a great opportunity to teach him these commands, and let him be successful at them. It's all about baby steps. We worked on two new commands as well - emergency U-turn and emergency stay. These are commands to be used when there is no way to avoid another dog. U-turn is just like it sounds, as soon as I see a dog, I say, "this way," and we change our direction. Emergency stay is where I put him in the sit-stay position and then stand in front of him with my back to him, blocking his view of the other dog. Now, these are commands to use while he is hopefully learning to not be reactive to other dogs. The goal being, that he won't need these someday. I am also going to purchase a gentle leader (those leashes that go over their nose) in hopes that it will give me more control over him. I like the "invisible dog" idea and am hopeful that we will see some real progress this week...

Week Four: Eureka! A break through!The week started off the same as others, with Trooper being one dog inside and a nutjob when he stepped outside. I called Pat the day before our next training session and expressed my frustrations (if she ever gives up training, she should be a therapist!). She suggested that I try hand-feeding Trooper. This means at mealtimes, I am to feed him his regular portion by hand when, and only when, he follows my commands (a handful at a time). I thought, 'okay, but I already know he's great inside.' Well...only two meals later, he was a different dog!!!! All of a sudden he would take treats outside, and get this - look at me when asked! Pat came the next day and she could see the difference in him. Now, this is not to say he's perfect by any means, but remember, it's all about baby steps. We worked with him starting on my front porch and slowly worked our way to the sidewalk. The further he got from the house, the less focused he became. When he did that, we just turned around and started over from the porch. It's all about him being successful, so it's important not to set the bar too high. My homework this week - keep up the hand feeding and SLOWLY work him away from the house. Pat laughed at the end of the session when I told Trooper I didn't resent him this week. She expressed this is why she loves her job - because every dog is different and different things work for different dogs. It is so great that she kept trying different ways to get through to Trooper, instead of just having a 'one size fits all' approach. Thank you Pat! Happy....

Week Five: We had a great week! I have to admit, I like this hand-feeding thing - there's a certain satisfaction with having this kind of control. ? Troop has even learned all sorts of new parlor tricks in order to get his meals. I worked everyday with him taking baby steps away from the house. By the next training session, he was following commands around the whole block! When Pat came, I was just gushing about how wonderfully he's doing, and of course he saw a dog and went ballistic. Dogs are just like kids, they never perform when you want them to. But, we did come across a beautiful German Shepherd, Jake, who was just calmly laying in his front yard. We worked on rewarding Trooper every time he looked at Jake, but didn't react. We used the marker, "friend" when he would look at him and then gave him a treat. For some reason, T had no problem with Jake, but when another dog walked across the street, he started barking again. Again, baby steps. I feel good though that there is real progress happening now. Pat said I can ease off the hand-feeding to every other meal now. Homework this week, work on the friend marker and start delaying the reward just a tiny bit to see if he looks at me without me even asking. Having fun now....

Week Six: What a day! Pat came today with her dog, Bob, so we could work on positively reinforcing Trooper when he sees another dog. We tried this in week two, with no success, but today...WHAT A DIFFERENCE!!!! I have been walking Troop all week and saying 'friend' every time we saw a dog, but I would always keep walking - not giving him a chance to really react. Today though, Pat was standing across the street with Bob and walking him back and forth, and every time T looked, I said, "yes" and gave him a treat. I can't express enough what a change there was in his demeanor - he was interested in Bob, but not freaking out. I even got him to follow commands while looking at Bob. I could tell that Trooper was just as proud of himself as I was. This week's homework is to just keep up with the walking and positive reinforcement when he sees other dogs. I was so excited about today, that I was saying I wanted to take him to the park and see how he does. Pat cautioned me not to jump too fast and give him the chance to rehearse bad behavior. She's so right. Taking him to the Dogtropolis that is Wash Park would probably be overload for him right now. I am just going to keep up with our happy neighborhood walks for now. I can't believe I actually look forward to our walks now! Doin' the happy dance today...

Week Seven: Trooper had another good week on our walks, so today Pat and I met at Washington Park to see how he would do with lots of dogs around. Trooper was so excited to be at a real park with so many things to sniff and see, that he was a bit ADD about the whole listening to me part. It was spring break and a beautiful day, so there were tons of people and their dogs there. The good news is that he was pretty good for the most part. He wouldn't take a treat the whole time we were there, but he also didn't flip out like he would in the past. It made me realize that park trips are actually do-able. My homework is to take him to the park some more and see if he gets a little more used to it.

Week Eight: Trooper is still a pleasure to walk with and we definitely have a new respect for each other. Pat came over with Bob again and Trooper was interested and excited to see him, but in such a different way than before. There just didn't seem to be that aggression this time. It seemed more like genuine excitement. Pat was so pleased with his behavior that she wanted to try getting them closer and see what T would do. He was still taking treats and listening with Bob just being a little ahead of us on the sidewalk. He was doing so well that we actually let Trooper sniff Bob's behind! I just couldn't believe I was doing this with Trooper! Now, these were only 2-4 second sniffs and then I would lead Troop away, but still, HUGE progress. It's so great that Pat has Bob to help with this. He's such a sweet, mellow dog that I think he really can put other dogs at ease. It would be very hard to track progress without a control dog (Bob). I certainly wouldn't try this with some random dog at the park. It was great to learn the step by step process of how the introduction process should work. These "nano-sniffs" are great, because it doesn't really give him time to get so worked up. Then he gets tons of praise and treats right after. I am just so pleased with that crazy dog of mine! I think he's pretty pleased with himself, too. Next week, Pat will bring Bob again for our last session.




	Trooper Tracker: Tales from a Reactive dog Background on Trooper: Trooper is a 3-year-old Golden Retriever. We rescued Trooper (actual name Clone Trooper, named by my 5-year-old son) from the Golden Retriever Freedom Rescue a couple years ago. He had never really had a proper home and was pretty clueless about everything from stairs to doors. But, he adapted quickly and seemed like your typical Golden - except he refuses to fetch. The first clue that Trooper may not love all dogs was at charity event at PetsMart, when, while I was filling in his information to get him a dog tag, I heard a yipe and turned around to see a tiny little white dog in his mouth. Thankfully, the dog was unharmed, but it had me a little concerned. He had been around dogs all afternoon without incident, so I wrote this off as a fluke. The next clue came on a walk with the family, and a dog ran out of its house and came to see us, and Trooper attacked. I again was concerned, but thought he was just protecting his family. Though in some denial, I knew enough to not take him for walks for a while until I got this figured out. Enter Pat Blocker - our resident trainer extraordinaire. Through this page, I will be updating Trooper's progress (I hope) and sharing the tips I've learned along the way. I will update the page after every training session (every week or so). We will do a follow-up article in the May/June issue of Rocky Mountain Dog. I hope what I learn through this process helps some of you out there that may have a "reactive dog." Week One: The process started with Pat coming to my house to do an assessment. We basically just discussed Trooper's history and took him for a short walk so she could see what I was talking about. We didn't even make it off my front porch before a dog walked by and Pat got a first-hand look at what T does. He practically ripped my arm off trying to run to the other dog. She left me with one homework assignment. Teach Trooper the "watch me" command. Basically, this consists of teaching T to look at me on command and then rewarding him with a treat every time he did. Trooper was a quick study and nailed it after the first day or so. But...that was in the house. Different story when we went outside... Week Two: This week, Pat brought her dog, Bob. We worked on rewarding Trooper every time he saw Bob, but didn't react. So, Pat would go down to the end of the block with Bob and I would wait for T to notice, and then shove his mouth full of treats to associate other dogs with getting treats. Timing was the hard part with this one. You have to get them as soon as they see the dog, but before they start to react. Troop decided to be extra difficult because he wasn't as interested in the treats as he was in the other dog. And these were really good treats - Pat calls them "Doggie Ben & Jerry's." Homework this week was to keep practicing this with random dogs that would walk past our house. This proved difficult trying to time getting him a treat before he reacted. He was much faster at noticing dogs than I was, and still wasn't too interested in the treats. I even switched to chicken, but nothing is more interesting than other dogs. Feeling a little frustrated... Week Three: When Pat came this time, I explained the difficulty I was having getting him to take a treat. We noticed that he would take the treat if I threw it on the ground, so we worked on a new command, "find it." I would throw a treat on the ground and as soon as he ate it, I say, "find it." This way he learns to associate that there is a treat when I say that, because sometimes he wouldn't even notice that I threw one on the ground. So, the goal is that I will be able to say, "find it" and he will look for the treat and take his attention away from another dog. Trooper wasn't ready to practice with real dogs, so we went to the alley behind my house, where many "invisible dogs" live behind fences. Trooper is not as reactive to a dog behind a fence, so it's a great opportunity to teach him these commands, and let him be successful at them. It's all about baby steps. We worked on two new commands as well - emergency U-turn and emergency stay. These are commands to be used when there is no way to avoid another dog. U-turn is just like it sounds, as soon as I see a dog, I say, "this way," and we change our direction. Emergency stay is where I put him in the sit-stay position and then stand in front of him with my back to him, blocking his view of the other dog. Now, these are commands to use while he is hopefully learning to not be reactive to other dogs. The goal being, that he won't need these someday. I am also going to purchase a gentle leader (those leashes that go over their nose) in hopes that it will give me more control over him. I like the "invisible dog" idea and am hopeful that we will see some real progress this week... Week Four: Eureka! A break through!The week started off the same as others, with Trooper being one dog inside and a nutjob when he stepped outside. I called Pat the day before our next training session and expressed my frustrations (if she ever gives up training, she should be a therapist!). She suggested that I try hand-feeding Trooper. This means at mealtimes, I am to feed him his regular portion by hand when, and only when, he follows my commands (a handful at a time). I thought, 'okay, but I already know he's great inside.' Well...only two meals later, he was a different dog!!!! All of a sudden he would take treats outside, and get this - look at me when asked! Pat came the next day and she could see the difference in him. Now, this is not to say he's perfect by any means, but remember, it's all about baby steps. We worked with him starting on my front porch and slowly worked our way to the sidewalk. The further he got from the house, the less focused he became. When he did that, we just turned around and started over from the porch. It's all about him being successful, so it's important not to set the bar too high. My homework this week - keep up the hand feeding and SLOWLY work him away from the house. Pat laughed at the end of the session when I told Trooper I didn't resent him this week. She expressed this is why she loves her job - because every dog is different and different things work for different dogs. It is so great that she kept trying different ways to get through to Trooper, instead of just having a 'one size fits all' approach. Thank you Pat! Happy.... Week Five: We had a great week! I have to admit, I like this hand-feeding thing - there's a certain satisfaction with having this kind of control. ? Troop has even learned all sorts of new parlor tricks in order to get his meals. I worked everyday with him taking baby steps away from the house. By the next training session, he was following commands around the whole block! When Pat came, I was just gushing about how wonderfully he's doing, and of course he saw a dog and went ballistic. Dogs are just like kids, they never perform when you want them to. But, we did come across a beautiful German Shepherd, Jake, who was just calmly laying in his front yard. We worked on rewarding Trooper every time he looked at Jake, but didn't react. We used the marker, "friend" when he would look at him and then gave him a treat. For some reason, T had no problem with Jake, but when another dog walked across the street, he started barking again. Again, baby steps. I feel good though that there is real progress happening now. Pat said I can ease off the hand-feeding to every other meal now. Homework this week, work on the friend marker and start delaying the reward just a tiny bit to see if he looks at me without me even asking. Having fun now.... Week Six: What a day! Pat came today with her dog, Bob, so we could work on positively reinforcing Trooper when he sees another dog. We tried this in week two, with no success, but today...WHAT A DIFFERENCE!!!! I have been walking Troop all week and saying 'friend' every time we saw a dog, but I would always keep walking - not giving him a chance to really react. Today though, Pat was standing across the street with Bob and walking him back and forth, and every time T looked, I said, "yes" and gave him a treat. I can't express enough what a change there was in his demeanor - he was interested in Bob, but not freaking out. I even got him to follow commands while looking at Bob. I could tell that Trooper was just as proud of himself as I was. This week's homework is to just keep up with the walking and positive reinforcement when he sees other dogs. I was so excited about today, that I was saying I wanted to take him to the park and see how he does. Pat cautioned me not to jump too fast and give him the chance to rehearse bad behavior. She's so right. Taking him to the Dogtropolis that is Wash Park would probably be overload for him right now. I am just going to keep up with our happy neighborhood walks for now. I can't believe I actually look forward to our walks now! Doin' the happy dance today... Week Seven: Trooper had another good week on our walks, so today Pat and I met at Washington Park to see how he would do with lots of dogs around. Trooper was so excited to be at a real park with so many things to sniff and see, that he was a bit ADD about the whole listening to me part. It was spring break and a beautiful day, so there were tons of people and their dogs there. The good news is that he was pretty good for the most part. He wouldn't take a treat the whole time we were there, but he also didn't flip out like he would in the past. It made me realize that park trips are actually do-able. My homework is to take him to the park some more and see if he gets a little more used to it. Week Eight: Trooper is still a pleasure to walk with and we definitely have a new respect for each other. Pat came over with Bob again and Trooper was interested and excited to see him, but in such a different way than before. There just didn't seem to be that aggression this time. It seemed more like genuine excitement. Pat was so pleased with his behavior that she wanted to try getting them closer and see what T would do. He was still taking treats and listening with Bob just being a little ahead of us on the sidewalk. He was doing so well that we actually let Trooper sniff Bob's behind! I just couldn't believe I was doing this with Trooper! Now, these were only 2-4 second sniffs and then I would lead Troop away, but still, HUGE progress. It's so great that Pat has Bob to help with this. He's such a sweet, mellow dog that I think he really can put other dogs at ease. It would be very hard to track progress without a control dog (Bob). I certainly wouldn't try this with some random dog at the park. It was great to learn the step by step process of how the introduction process should work. These "nano-sniffs" are great, because it doesn't really give him time to get so worked up. Then he gets tons of praise and treats right after. I am just so pleased with that crazy dog of mine! I think he's pretty pleased with himself, too. Next week, Pat will bring Bob again for our last session.



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