I have been trying to work on the Protocol for Relaxation program with Frodo, and it was going well, until now. The past few times I have tried to work on it with him, he will get up and just walk away, like he has lost interest and perhaps there is something more fun to do elsewhere.

Yesterday morning Frodo and I went to the Sunday morning walk and Frodo did AWESOME!

There were 4 other dogs there, he didn't have any full blown reactions though he did growl twice. Of the dogs that were there 3 were reactive (including Frodo), one is working on learning to settle and not scream when she can't socialize, and the other was just along for the ride I think. We kept the walk short as it was very hot and muggy out, which I was thankful for. Frodo does not do well in the heat at all, nor do I.

It was amazing, I wasn't nervous at all and Frodo spent most of the walk very relaxed and more interested in sniffing than in the other dogs. He did seem a little uneasy when we were ahead of everybody else, he continued to move forward but would glance behind every once in a while, so we moved to the side and let others pass us and he went back to good. I was amazed at how much easier it was for me to gauge threshold in that environment than when we are out on a normal day.

I had planned on posting Sunday as soon as we got back so it was still fresh and I could remember more, but then got sidetracked and forgot :|

Before everybody unloaded their dogs (I was there early and already had Frodo out) Silke and I worked on greeting people with a hand target. Silke made the comment that she could tell I had worked a lot on keeping his focus on me instead of other people because he sat there and looked at me when she was trying to get him to interact with her :p
We did eventually get him targeting her hand though, and this is something I am going to start forcing friends to help me with if they want to pet him. We were also able to work on this for a little bit before we left with another of the dog's owners.

In other news, we have been working on the Protocol for Relaxation and the whole thing seems to have really clicked with Frodo. His only issue is that sometimes I have to remind him that he isn't allowed to pop up to get the treat when I am leaning down to give it to him. I have been trying to find time to work on it every day, so hopefully I can take it on the road in a few days!
The next spot to work is either going to be the park or Panera Bread I think, unless I discover a better place to work on it.

It seems like a lot has happened over the past few days, and I've had no time to blog about it!

One small part of it is that I am now doing Sunday morning walks with a group of dog savvy people, some of whom are working with reactive dogs themselves. I went today and it was me, the owner of the local doggy daycare, Silke Wittig, and my gym teacher from elementary school!

I think this is going to be an invaluable resource over the course of the summer. The walk is at the local fairgrounds, so there is a ton of room to work and the atmosphere is so fluid and calm. They know that he is reactive and how to respond to a reactive dog, which is going to calm me down as I always get embarrassed when Frodo has a reaction in public. I left Frodo at home this morning, but I can't WAIT to start taking him next week!

In addition to that, I think I am going to start helping out at the local doggy daycare, Wagging Tail, for a few hours a week. I am hoping to really hone my dog body language skills while there, plus the owner offered for us to use her brand new pool at the facility! I would love for Frodo to enjoy the water enough to be able to get some low-impact exercise in. He hasn't had all that many opportunities to swim, though he has no issue wading through puddles of all depths, but I am hoping he takes well to it.

I am also going to observe/help out at two of Silke's dog training classes on Tuesday nights. Her intermediate obedience and her puppy class (squee! puppies! that I don't have to live with!), I am sure I will learn a ton from just being there and taking everything in.

In completely other news, I did take Frodo down to the fairgrounds this evening as it was just too cool out to pass up the opportunity. He certainly had a lot more energy! He ran around a lot more and then I got his cuz out (he will sometimes chase it in the house but is by no means obsessed) and he went bonkers! He was all about it! I would squeek it and he would focus with a side of more focus, like...herding breed focus and intensity. I would throw it and he would sprint after it and usually just kinda "meh" once he caught up to it. So I'd go over and pick it up, squeek it, same focus and intensity. Woohoo! A few times he picked it up and started trotting the other way, happy as a clam, then drop it after a bit and I would go get it and throw it again.

It was a great time! Overall, today was just awesome!

The past 2 days Frodo and I have run into quite a few dogs, children, and people (yes, I realize that children are people too) on our walks, with very mixed results.

It's that time.