Full disclosure this is very long so feel free to ignore haha
I have had my girl River since she was abt 2.5-3 months old. When I got her she had been neglected, abused, and abandoned and had been feral with her entire litter for an estimated 1.5-2 months. Her mother was tied up on a short chain so she could not escape or take care of the puppies on the trash covered lot they were left on. Thankfully someone walking by noticed them all and called the shelter, but by then at least 3 puppies had sadly been hit by cars. The mother couldn’t stand up and was severely emaciated and the puppies weren’t much better off. I say this because it should give u an idea of the level of fear based reactivity that River has. I have had her for two years as of December first and despite everything I am so glad I have her and she has made so much progress. Here is a brief list of the progress we have made.
Before: severely people aggressive on and off leash especially towards men, would often redirect onto my hands/legs/the leash or even sometimes herself, terrified of everything that moved, terrified of the car, terrified of the crate but still had to be crated at night and when we left the house bc she would run aliens terrorize the cats and destroy things, terrified of the house, terrified of new places/stores, terrified of me at times for the first few months, would flinch severely at any sudden movement/raised hand (very clear signs of past abuse) very itchy and covered in fleas, terrified of the bath tub, terrified to go out in the yard, afraid of leash and would pull away and thrash to the point i was afraid she would either seriously hurt herself or slip her collar and get hit by a car, wouldn’t eat or drink more than a couple mouthfuls with no one around and wouldn’t eat or drink at all with people around, no engagement or focus at all, no food motivation, scared of toys, hated any form of training, no recall at all but same issues applied to the long line as the regular leash, ran away constantly, too scared to engage w other dogs, constantly shut down, couldn’t safely go to the vet without holding her down/pinning her head against my body so she wouldn’t bite the vet, wouldn’t wear a muzzle, and a few other things but this is getting long so I’ll move on.
Now (still not perfect but my god is she better): I can let her off leash anywhere and she stays with/focused on me, people can not only be around/near her but can come towards her, even at a fast or crouched pace and she will just back up, get behind/next to me, and look at me for instruction, no longer redirects onto me, herself or her leash, but does calmly hold her leash in her mouth if she is nervous on a walk which I never trained but am ok w since she in not chewing or pulling just walking w it in her mouth like a bringsel alert, she LOVES the car and if I open the door to the house and say car she will run all the way out down the stairs and down the driveway to sit (shaking w excitement) next to her door until I open and give her release cue, very protective of the house but definitely in an at home way rather than a I’m nervous and protective of myself not the house way, she has a lot more confidence and while still being a nervous dog her confidence builds more every day, will go into her crate and lay down calmly on cue and no longer needs to be crated while we are away or asleep, I can take her new places and she is excited and into stores where she keeps a fairly nice calm heel as long as I advocate for her and make sure people leave her alone (I bought a DO NOT PET vest so people back off), I have the strongest bond w her than any dog I’ve ever owned and she looks to me in nervous situations for instruction, no more flinching or startling at all at sudden movements or raised hands usually just excitement or she doesn’t care it happened, no longer panics at the bathtub just stands calmly while I bathe her as well as allows me to clip her nails w minimal fuss as long as there’s treats or play involved, LOVES the backyard AND stays in it even when out alone, very nice leash manners w minimal pulling and positive response to correction/reminders when she does pull, a nice heel when asked both on and off leash but working on duration and more engagement and can walk on a flat collar, gets excited for harness, leash, and coat when it’s cold out, excited to eat, will even work for her meals, and will finish what I feed her plus brings me her water bowl when she needs/wants more even if it means dumping whatever is left all over the rug, engagement and focus building more and more by the day, food motivation is good, adores toys and is no longer frightened at new objects/toys brought into the house will instead bark a couple times and then give in to curiosity and go to sniff them, promptly taking them if they are a toy for her, gets excited for training sessions and responds well to them, near perfect recall, cal let her off leash anywhere it is legal and trust her to come back, even breaking from play or a squirrel chase to do so, no longer need the long line but have the ability to use it, stays close and no longer runs away, loves the cats (her best friend is one of them and they play and cuddle together), rarely if ever shut down, had our first truly successful vet visit about two weeks ago. She sat calmly and received a full examination and 4 vaccines without trying to nip once and calmly wearing a muzzle like it was nothing, no pinning necessary, plus jumped up on the scale and sat still on cue!
That was long but just figured once I started I might as well finish right? Very proud of my girl and it has taken hundreds upon hundreds of hours to get to this point but it is for sure worth it. This dog has taught me so goddamn much abt everything from reactivity to tracing methods to tools from basic training to advanced, and even about various dog sports, has gotten me interested in an actual career in dog training (both reactive and non-reactive dogs) and that’s not even all. Lastly I know it’s cliche but trust me my dog was an absolute nightmare when I got her and despite everything she has made a ton of progress and is only making more every day. I can say e full confidence that it may take what seems like forever and u may hate the dog and u may love the dog and u may very seriously consider giving up but keep at it bc IT GETS BETTER!
A sad but necessary addition due to a couple of comments that I agree I should have mentioned:
The sad reality is that some dogs may have issues too serious and u may have to give them up or even euthanize them. That is most likely not your fault, and it is a horrible thing. However there are times when that is the most considerate, kindest option for the dog and I acknowledge that. It is sad but true and even that can be a point when things ‘get better’ per say bc the dog may not have quality of life left. Not only does it have to get better for u, but for the dog as well and that is so so important to remember. It may be easier for me to have a dog that say isn’t bolting or biting but is instead completely shut down, but is it easier for the dog? Hell no it isn’t it’s unfair to the dog. Just keep that in mind when reading and thinking abt this that there are cases where keeping the dog even just in your home is not the best option, but if u have done your best and exhausted all other options, or just can’t handle it anymore, that is TOTALLY OK as long as u do what u can!
One more thing: I intentionally did not say what exactly I did in training because method is going to be different for each dog and what I do may not work for u, but I have mentioned it in the comments if u would like to read down there! Short answer is I use a balanced method that focuses on basic corrections (not hitting, smacking, nudging, kicking, pinning, or any other abuse do your research and read my more detailed comment before accusing me of anything), marker cues, and huge rewards to keep focus on me and a positive association w everything and her confidence, focus, and general engagement has climbed an insane amount on these tactics ever since I stopped telling her everything she did was perfect! Not only that but my own confidence and trust in my dog has grown exponentially and our bond has strengthened in a way I think we both feel very clearly! I am so proud of her and it was worth the time and effort it took!
For anyone curious u can find pictures of River and follow her story a bit here on her Instagram!
I have had my girl River since she was abt 2.5-3 months old. When I got her she had been neglected, abused, and abandoned and had been feral with her entire litter for an estimated 1.5-2 months. Her mother was tied up on a short chain so she could not escape or take care of the puppies on the trash covered lot they were left on. Thankfully someone walking by noticed them all and called the shelter, but by then at least 3 puppies had sadly been hit by cars. The mother couldn’t stand up and was severely emaciated and the puppies weren’t much better off. I say this because it should give u an idea of the level of fear based reactivity that River has. I have had her for two years as of December first and despite everything I am so glad I have her and she has made so much progress. Here is a brief list of the progress we have made.
Before: severely people aggressive on and off leash especially towards men, would often redirect onto my hands/legs/the leash or even sometimes herself, terrified of everything that moved, terrified of the car, terrified of the crate but still had to be crated at night and when we left the house bc she would run aliens terrorize the cats and destroy things, terrified of the house, terrified of new places/stores, terrified of me at times for the first few months, would flinch severely at any sudden movement/raised hand (very clear signs of past abuse) very itchy and covered in fleas, terrified of the bath tub, terrified to go out in the yard, afraid of leash and would pull away and thrash to the point i was afraid she would either seriously hurt herself or slip her collar and get hit by a car, wouldn’t eat or drink more than a couple mouthfuls with no one around and wouldn’t eat or drink at all with people around, no engagement or focus at all, no food motivation, scared of toys, hated any form of training, no recall at all but same issues applied to the long line as the regular leash, ran away constantly, too scared to engage w other dogs, constantly shut down, couldn’t safely go to the vet without holding her down/pinning her head against my body so she wouldn’t bite the vet, wouldn’t wear a muzzle, and a few other things but this is getting long so I’ll move on.
Now (still not perfect but my god is she better): I can let her off leash anywhere and she stays with/focused on me, people can not only be around/near her but can come towards her, even at a fast or crouched pace and she will just back up, get behind/next to me, and look at me for instruction, no longer redirects onto me, herself or her leash, but does calmly hold her leash in her mouth if she is nervous on a walk which I never trained but am ok w since she in not chewing or pulling just walking w it in her mouth like a bringsel alert, she LOVES the car and if I open the door to the house and say car she will run all the way out down the stairs and down the driveway to sit (shaking w excitement) next to her door until I open and give her release cue, very protective of the house but definitely in an at home way rather than a I’m nervous and protective of myself not the house way, she has a lot more confidence and while still being a nervous dog her confidence builds more every day, will go into her crate and lay down calmly on cue and no longer needs to be crated while we are away or asleep, I can take her new places and she is excited and into stores where she keeps a fairly nice calm heel as long as I advocate for her and make sure people leave her alone (I bought a DO NOT PET vest so people back off), I have the strongest bond w her than any dog I’ve ever owned and she looks to me in nervous situations for instruction, no more flinching or startling at all at sudden movements or raised hands usually just excitement or she doesn’t care it happened, no longer panics at the bathtub just stands calmly while I bathe her as well as allows me to clip her nails w minimal fuss as long as there’s treats or play involved, LOVES the backyard AND stays in it even when out alone, very nice leash manners w minimal pulling and positive response to correction/reminders when she does pull, a nice heel when asked both on and off leash but working on duration and more engagement and can walk on a flat collar, gets excited for harness, leash, and coat when it’s cold out, excited to eat, will even work for her meals, and will finish what I feed her plus brings me her water bowl when she needs/wants more even if it means dumping whatever is left all over the rug, engagement and focus building more and more by the day, food motivation is good, adores toys and is no longer frightened at new objects/toys brought into the house will instead bark a couple times and then give in to curiosity and go to sniff them, promptly taking them if they are a toy for her, gets excited for training sessions and responds well to them, near perfect recall, cal let her off leash anywhere it is legal and trust her to come back, even breaking from play or a squirrel chase to do so, no longer need the long line but have the ability to use it, stays close and no longer runs away, loves the cats (her best friend is one of them and they play and cuddle together), rarely if ever shut down, had our first truly successful vet visit about two weeks ago. She sat calmly and received a full examination and 4 vaccines without trying to nip once and calmly wearing a muzzle like it was nothing, no pinning necessary, plus jumped up on the scale and sat still on cue!
That was long but just figured once I started I might as well finish right? Very proud of my girl and it has taken hundreds upon hundreds of hours to get to this point but it is for sure worth it. This dog has taught me so goddamn much abt everything from reactivity to tracing methods to tools from basic training to advanced, and even about various dog sports, has gotten me interested in an actual career in dog training (both reactive and non-reactive dogs) and that’s not even all. Lastly I know it’s cliche but trust me my dog was an absolute nightmare when I got her and despite everything she has made a ton of progress and is only making more every day. I can say e full confidence that it may take what seems like forever and u may hate the dog and u may love the dog and u may very seriously consider giving up but keep at it bc IT GETS BETTER!
A sad but necessary addition due to a couple of comments that I agree I should have mentioned:
The sad reality is that some dogs may have issues too serious and u may have to give them up or even euthanize them. That is most likely not your fault, and it is a horrible thing. However there are times when that is the most considerate, kindest option for the dog and I acknowledge that. It is sad but true and even that can be a point when things ‘get better’ per say bc the dog may not have quality of life left. Not only does it have to get better for u, but for the dog as well and that is so so important to remember. It may be easier for me to have a dog that say isn’t bolting or biting but is instead completely shut down, but is it easier for the dog? Hell no it isn’t it’s unfair to the dog. Just keep that in mind when reading and thinking abt this that there are cases where keeping the dog even just in your home is not the best option, but if u have done your best and exhausted all other options, or just can’t handle it anymore, that is TOTALLY OK as long as u do what u can!
One more thing: I intentionally did not say what exactly I did in training because method is going to be different for each dog and what I do may not work for u, but I have mentioned it in the comments if u would like to read down there! Short answer is I use a balanced method that focuses on basic corrections (not hitting, smacking, nudging, kicking, pinning, or any other abuse do your research and read my more detailed comment before accusing me of anything), marker cues, and huge rewards to keep focus on me and a positive association w everything and her confidence, focus, and general engagement has climbed an insane amount on these tactics ever since I stopped telling her everything she did was perfect! Not only that but my own confidence and trust in my dog has grown exponentially and our bond has strengthened in a way I think we both feel very clearly! I am so proud of her and it was worth the time and effort it took!
For anyone curious u can find pictures of River and follow her story a bit here on her Instagram!
