I noticed that Goose was a little sheepish around some gear I put out to do a little movement with, so I threw the camera on and caught 90% of the session.⁣⁣⁣
⁣⁣⁣
The camera cut off a little early, but this write up will fill in the blanks.⁣⁣⁣
⁣⁣⁣
This whole interaction lasted just over 3min, and the aim was to demystify this equipment for Goose.⁣⁣⁣
⁣⁣⁣
No food, just a patient approach and some positive reinforcement.⁣⁣⁣
⁣⁣
By the end of this session he'd climbed up on the cage at the front of the Echo bike without much of a care.⁣⁣
⁣⁣⁣
One notable observation is that I blocked some of Goose’s choices to remove himself from jumping over the bike.⁣⁣⁣
⁣⁣⁣
Separately Goose has been learning that directional pressure on the leash leads to good things if he moves into that pressure, so I barely needed any pressure…and had he not known this prior I’d have to be very considered about applying this option.⁣⁣⁣
⁣⁣⁣
He certainly wouldn’t have dealt with that well on day one.⁣⁣⁣
⁣⁣⁣
There are many dogs like Goose out there that just haven’t seen much novelty during their formative period.⁣⁣⁣
⁣⁣⁣
If you have a dog that is ‘less bold’ in these kind of situations then flight (creating more distance, backing off) can very easily become a generalised response.⁣⁣⁣
⁣⁣⁣
Once the dog works out that this is a very successful strategy, and it gets consistently applied for a significant period of time, and across multiple contexts, it can be quite tricky to overcome.⁣⁣⁣
⁣⁣⁣
This is particularly so with less courageous, timid, and/or anxious dogs.⁣⁣⁣
⁣⁣⁣
Patience and understanding are key to make these kinds of exposures work well, and creating a trusting relationship with the handler through shared experiences massively increases your chances of success.⁣⁣⁣
⁣⁣⁣
I hope this helps somebody out there let me know in the comments if it’s useful to you.⁣⁣⁣
⁣⁣⁣
#projectgoose #spoodle #oodle #dogsofmelbourne