I was pleasantly surprised today by Lucy. After having a day of correction yesterday and good night’s sleep, this morning as Raina walked passed Lucy’s crate I noticed Lucy turn her head away from Raina and avoid looking at her. This is exactly what I am looking for. After a correction of the right kind – when it comes to dogs who are aggressive towards anything (dogs, people, cats, etc.) – most dogs go into avoidance. Lucy was avoiding Raina. I took this opportunity to work with her and reward her for this decision.
I had my daughter, Raina’s owner, play with Raina in close proximity to Lucy’s crate. I wanted to make sure that Raina was close, but not too close, as to allow Lucy the freedom to make the right choices. Too much too fast can create a lot of pressure and stress that leads to frantic, wrong choices. Unfortunately, with Raina, this is difficult. She is a 14 year old nearly blind dog who is genuinely clueless. We did the best we could. Each
Each time Raina would come close to Lucy’s crate for a high value treat, we would watch and wait for Lucy’s reaction. If there was no growling, or lip curling, and if she seemed to avoid or ignore Raina, she was rewarded with her own high value treat. This is just a beginning though.
We will be adding to this reward system, demanding more from Lucy. Although she was avoiding Raina, and although there was no growling or lip curling, there was still stiffness in her body and a harder look in her eyes. Her rewards are going to be more difficult to access. In the coming days, she will only be rewarded if we see a softening of the eyes and/or body, and building on that.
Because it is the safest way of handling this right now, we are only working with Lucy while she is in the crate. Next week, I hope to move this outdoors where there is a lot of room. Lucy will be on a long leash, attached to the prong collar, and wearing two e-collars while Raina is in the back yard. The goal will be to keep them separated while keeping an eye Lucy and her body language – correcting when necessary, and rewarding for right choices.