I'm teaching a "Basic" and a "Competition" class right now and as is often the case one or two of the dogs in each of the classes are exhibiting signs of stress which come in a variety of forms including heavy panting, incessant barking, cowering, inability to take treats, etc. The stress certainly comes from the surroundings especially if the dogs are new to our training facility, but it also comes from the tenseness of the person working with them. For some, the stress goes away immediately, for others it continues for several classes, and still others--those that have the hardest time--suffer the entire 8-weeks.
Understanding the signs of stress and doing things to alleviate the stress when y0ur dog experiences it will go a long way in improving not only your training success, but your overall relationship. The first step is to recognize the signs, the second is to learn some of the calming signals that dogs use with each other. For example, turning your head, blinking your eyes in rapid succession, and yawning (there are many more and we can certainly discuss them on this blog if people are interested) can indicate to your dog that she does not need to be worried or anxious--at the very least it will let her know that you are not angry or frustrated with her.
However, there is an important caveat here--dogs are masters at reading body language--both human and canine-- and thus they will know when you are trying to "pull one over on them"--that is, they will know when you are pretending everything is okay when it is not. If you yawn and blink your eyes, but you really are tense and frustrated because, for example, your dog is not learning a particular skill fast enough, he will know and thus continue to feel anxious. I have increasingly become mindful of my own tenseness when working with my dogs and have regularly pointed it out to students when I see it in them. Be conscious of this when working with your dogs--take deep breaths, relax your shoulders, slow down--you will be a better trainer for it and more importantly your dog will be happier when your training her.
Scott
The best example of this is for those of you that show your dogs. It explains why our dogs fall apart in the ring even though we're forcing a smile on our faces. They can smell and feel our tension despite our efforts to hide it. Another common example is when we work with aggressive or fearful dogs. For owners of dog-aggressive dogs, the owners naturally tense up when seeing another dog approach, which then leads to more tension and aggression in their dog. A vicious cycle. It is important to teach ourselves how to relax around our dogs, especially in situations that could cause behavioral problems.
ReplyDeleteI have seen this often with my fearful dog. If I relax and talk to her happily she relaxes and decides oh this is fun! 9 times out of 10. If you believe your fearful dog can do it, and read their body language to try to keep them from failing, you can make more progress than you ever imagined. Carmen and Scott got us off to a great start for sure!!
ReplyDeleteDana you have worked so hard with April and she has come so far, and it sounds like she's continuing to do well in Madison! It is far easier said than done to remain relaxed in stressful situations, but just like anything else practice makes perfect. Noel has some fear issues that we're working on, especially in large groups of people. I'll keep you all posted on her progress.
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