The Little Bear Dog Blog

It’s been a tough week. I’ve spent most of it spontaneously blubbing to the point where my eyes are puffy enough to make a story about going a few rounds with Mike Tyson sound almost plausible. Everywhere I look there are horses or references to them or pictures of them. The world has been a grey and joyless place and my mind has conspired to remind me of all the times that I could have seen her and didn’t.  The time I’ll never get back.

Life has of course, continued apace around me. Camden clawed Little Bear in the face for no good reason on Tuesday night which resulted in everyone sulking; Annie’s been waking us up at 4am nearly every morning for the hell of it and there’s been the usual rounds of walking, feeding and playing. Oh and of course, throw in an emergency trip back to the Bionic Vet for Annie when she suddenly stopped putting weight on her ‘new’ leg.

But today, amidst the chaos and the gloom, we had an unexpected breakthrough. At the field, LB decided to try and bully two adorable but very submissive adult spaniels. As the first squirmed and went tummy-up LB fell into the horribly familiar bully boy mode growling and posturing over her.

In the past I’ve shouted at him and grabbed his harness which makes him ten times worse.  Today, I walked calmly up to him and said sternly ‘Do you want a time out?’ On hearing this…..he walked away!  To which I said ‘Good’, (which is our clicker replacement word because he’s afraid of clickers…oh the irony!)

Before I could get to him, second submissive Spaniel ran up to him and promptly threw himself on his back. LB slipped into the same routine and this time when I said ‘Do you want a time out?’ he STOPPED growling and started sniffing instead which earned him another ‘good’. I was amazed.

He barked and chased them a few minutes later which earned him a two minute time out on the lead until he calmed down, but I can’t tell you how proud I was when on the next lap of the field, even though the Spaniels were just as submissive, he approached them calmly and sniffed without a trace of a growl or a stiff body posture. My praise was of course effusive for this turn-around and within seconds they were playing together.

‘Time out’ has been THE most effective training tool ever and it’s all thanks to my lovely friend and behaviourist Lou. Yes, it’s a punishment of sorts because it temporarily takes away something that he values i.e. his freedom to play off the lead, or if at home, his freedom to be with us, but I prefer to think of it more in terms of a consequence.  After months of using this technique consistently at home, it’s acting as a really effective management tool out and about, to the point where even the threat of it ‘Do you want a time-out?’ is enough to stop him in his tracks and make him think.

Hearing me in the park the other day, one lady was reduced to fits of giggles and asked me if we had a naughty step at home too a la Super Nanny.  I know it sounds a bit silly, but it’s working for us. I finally feel that I have a tool that helps me to control LB’s less desirable behaviour but without resorting to aversives which I detest and simply made his behaviour worse.

So in the midst of my gloom, yet again my dogs have shone a little light. I sometimes wonder who’s actually training who…