We had 4 different sessions, with short breaks in between each one, and one long break where Frodo was crated in the car.
We combined the BAT, which generally includes:
Environmental Cue > Behavior > Functional Reward.
in our case...
Approaching dog (remain below threshold) > Calming Signal (mainly look away, sniffing) > Run back to start line (increased distance)
We combined this with "calming circles" which is something we learned from trainer Ali Brown, where you start with two people with dogs standing opposite each other, below threshold. You start with a designated number of steps (we used ten) that you walk toward each other, then return to your start position. The next time you take two additional steps (12 steps for us), then return to start position. With each trial you add more steps, and eventually we were able to pass each other, turn in a circle and return to start position.
For our trials we worked the calming circles method, but whenever the dog offered a calming signal we immediately retreated to the start position, blending the two methods.
The first session was with Silke's pit bull/brittany mix, Eddie. He has pretty loose body language, but is reactive to bouncy, pushy dogs (says Silke, I've never seen him react). Frodo has been on walks and in class with him before, so he does know Eddie, though they have never actually physically met. Frodo seemed quite at ease around Eddie, which may be in part due to the very loose body language that Eddie has, plus Eddie focuses on Silke a lot and spent little time staring at Frodo. We were able to gradually approach each other and eventually circle around and return to start while being quite close to one another on the pass, probably 4-5 feet apart. I was able to use additional reinforcement during this time by allowing Frodo to sniff the bushes located at our start point.
The second session was in a close, but different location, and the dog was Silke's pit bull Ronya. Ronya was wearing a coat for the session and she also has much stiffer body language and is generally a more intense dog than Eddie. Frodo has been in class and on walks with Ronya, spending about as much time with her as he has with Eddie. We did the same process as in the first session, though the threshold was definitely further away and both dogs spent quite a bit more time air scenting and trying to get information from the other dog. In the first session Frodo's main calming signal was a look away, wheras with Ronya it was more ground sniffing. Once we got closer to one another Frodo also willingly started curving away from Ronya, giving her a wide berth when we came to passing, though he was not stressed.
The third session was in the same location as the first session and the dog involved was an Australian Shepherd named Monty. Monty is bouncy and forges on the leash, wheras both Ronya and Eddie kept a loose leash. He is stable and loves to play with other dogs, not reactive at all. Frodo had never seen Monty before. Treats were used by Monty's handler to keep Monty distracted and not pulling on the leash toward Frodo. There were times during this session where Frodo spent quite a while standing just below threshold looking at Monty before offering a look away, and a few times I prompted a look away by calling his name. He gave Money a wide berth, much like he had with Ronya when it came to passing. After the pass when we were circling around the back of Monty, Frodo very much wanted to approach Monty from the rear. He was very calm during this, but we did not let them meet.
After this session we worked Monty and Eddie, so Frodo had some down time, crated in the car.
We attempted a fourth session with Millie, a 9 month old English Mastiff who was at the daycare. The setup was Millie in the play yard and Frodo working from across the street. This session was botched when Frodo spotted two cats nearby and would not take his focus off of the cats. I guess I can live with cats being more interested than dogs!!
Overall I was very impressed and I am going to try and schedule another session next week. I love that Frodo is more in control with this as opposed to the straight counter conditioning using food. I was astounded that he was still happy to work after an hour without being given one food treat, which was by biggest concern since he is *so* food motivated. I also believe this method keeps his arousal level lower because he does get aroused by food being present.
Silke made the comment that "he is a very polite dog, when he's given the chance to be" meaning when we take things slow and don't shove him over threshold. That comment made me so happy, because I think it makes me feel like we can make a lot more progress, that he's not some little evil being, that he *wants* to be good and nice.
Additionally, Frodo has an appointment with the vet on Wednesday morning to get his hips looked at. After the session he was doing hand targeting and generally getting attention from Silke. When she put her hand on his back he started lip licking. She did it again and he reacted quite badly. He made all kinds of noise and air snapped. He loves Silke, I think he sees her as a walking treat bag and he is comfortable around her, so I know it is not because he just didn't want her touching him, there is something causing him pain. My guess is hips.
This also makes me realize how sensitive he is, because I think most normal people would lump his behavior into "he never gave any signs, it was out of the blue!" when in reality he did give a sign that he was uncomfortable (the lip licking), but you have to be watching because it is subtle and he can escalate fast. This is why taking him to the vet scares me, handing him over to people who don't know dog behavior very well scares me!
Anyway, I'm stressed over Wednesday's appointment and it doesn't help that my mom somehow managed to kill my internet so I can only be on the internet when I go out to my workplace!
