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Joy's Story |
Joy came to live with us in August 2017. The rescue had told me what they knew about her before bringing her over. They told me that she was found as a stray and ended up at the Humane Society of Central Texas in Waco. She was also found to be heart worm positive. The rescue decided to give her a chance and pull her from the shelter and get her on heart worm treatment. She had spent life in the rescue with two different fosters and had been with them since the previous September; almost a year. While she got along in a foster home with multiple dogs and cats, she was very reactive to new people and new dogs. It was to the point that they could not take her to adoption events.
Now, this is the information that the rescue gave us. What I witnessed was this: She was brought over to our house to see if she would get along with us and our two other dogs. When I first met her, she was barking and snarling at me. After a few treats and about fifteen minutes, we brought out one of our dogs. Joy still would not let me touch her or feed her treats and she didn't want anything to do with our other dog. We sat on our front lawn for a good chunk of time and waited for the dogs to stop growling at each other, then we moved inside and out to the back yard. We let them wander loose with leashes still attached (just in case) and let them come to terms with each other. It took over an hour before we felt comfortable that they were going to get along. The rescue suggested that we let her stay for a couple days and see how it goes before we sign the paperwork.
Two days later, it was a done deal, we signed the papers and paid her fee. Joy was staying.
I noticed there was something a little off about her at times. It was almost as if she did not know HOW to play with us or our dogs. She had two modes; "I'm okay," and "I'm going to take your leg off!" The second mode is how she sounded when we tried to play. It also came out when we would walk down the street and someone would come out of their house or there was another dog in a yard. It came out at PetSmart, Atwoods, or anywhere we would think about taking her. That reaction is very scary to encounter. I wasn't sure if she would actually bite someone. I can understand now why adoption events were off limits for her. Who would want a dog that reacts that way?
The thing about dogs are that they have two ways they can react when they are afraid or unsure of a situation. The first is to cower and run away. The second is to do exactly what Joy did and try to scare whatever it is away from her. It works. When she reacted this way, people left or went back inside. I don't blame them, however, this reaction by other people is what she is looking for, so it reinforces the behavior. There's no telling what happened to her while she was a stray or before that, but she learned that scaring people away gets her what she wants. I needed to teach her a better way to react. I also needed to give her a better reason to do it.
The rescue also told me that she was very food driven and would do anything for food. Enter positive reinforcement training. On the advice of a colleague, I also started using a clicker to mark the exact behavior I am looking for. It has been been six months since I started trying to get a better behavior out of her and she has made progress by leaps and bounds. She has good days and bad days, and some days my frustration level has brought me to tears, wondering if she was EVER going to get better. Today, she is able to sit at the front door and watch the kids ride their bikes down the street without making a sound. I am able to take her to the park and walk past people on the sidewalk without a peep. Just yesterday, walking her down my street, a couple of kids rode their bicycles past us several times. Although she reacted mildly the first couple times, by the third pass, she just sat and waited for them to go by.
Positive reinforcement training works, and Joy is proof.
Kim Jukes
Owner and trainer
People & Pups, LLC
Now, this is the information that the rescue gave us. What I witnessed was this: She was brought over to our house to see if she would get along with us and our two other dogs. When I first met her, she was barking and snarling at me. After a few treats and about fifteen minutes, we brought out one of our dogs. Joy still would not let me touch her or feed her treats and she didn't want anything to do with our other dog. We sat on our front lawn for a good chunk of time and waited for the dogs to stop growling at each other, then we moved inside and out to the back yard. We let them wander loose with leashes still attached (just in case) and let them come to terms with each other. It took over an hour before we felt comfortable that they were going to get along. The rescue suggested that we let her stay for a couple days and see how it goes before we sign the paperwork.
Two days later, it was a done deal, we signed the papers and paid her fee. Joy was staying.
I noticed there was something a little off about her at times. It was almost as if she did not know HOW to play with us or our dogs. She had two modes; "I'm okay," and "I'm going to take your leg off!" The second mode is how she sounded when we tried to play. It also came out when we would walk down the street and someone would come out of their house or there was another dog in a yard. It came out at PetSmart, Atwoods, or anywhere we would think about taking her. That reaction is very scary to encounter. I wasn't sure if she would actually bite someone. I can understand now why adoption events were off limits for her. Who would want a dog that reacts that way?
The thing about dogs are that they have two ways they can react when they are afraid or unsure of a situation. The first is to cower and run away. The second is to do exactly what Joy did and try to scare whatever it is away from her. It works. When she reacted this way, people left or went back inside. I don't blame them, however, this reaction by other people is what she is looking for, so it reinforces the behavior. There's no telling what happened to her while she was a stray or before that, but she learned that scaring people away gets her what she wants. I needed to teach her a better way to react. I also needed to give her a better reason to do it.
The rescue also told me that she was very food driven and would do anything for food. Enter positive reinforcement training. On the advice of a colleague, I also started using a clicker to mark the exact behavior I am looking for. It has been been six months since I started trying to get a better behavior out of her and she has made progress by leaps and bounds. She has good days and bad days, and some days my frustration level has brought me to tears, wondering if she was EVER going to get better. Today, she is able to sit at the front door and watch the kids ride their bikes down the street without making a sound. I am able to take her to the park and walk past people on the sidewalk without a peep. Just yesterday, walking her down my street, a couple of kids rode their bicycles past us several times. Although she reacted mildly the first couple times, by the third pass, she just sat and waited for them to go by.
Positive reinforcement training works, and Joy is proof.
Kim Jukes
Owner and trainer
People & Pups, LLC
